Agrarian Diagnosis of Binder Sum – Khentii Aimag

AGRARIAN DIAGNOSIS OF BINDER SUM – KHENTII AIMAG WHAT DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS FOR THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTION SECTOR? CHINGIS CITY - KHERLEN SUM - KHENTII AIMAG

“This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of GERES and project implementing Organizations, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.�

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. OVERALL CONTEXT, OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY AND WORK ORGANIZATION 6 1. Project outlines 6 2. Methodology approaches and implementation of the study 6 2.1 Concepts and methodological framework 6 2.2 Conduct of the study 8 3. Selection of the research area 8 II. FINDINGS AND RESULTS 1. Characterization of the study area 1.1 Binder in few figures 1.2 Pedoclimate, landscape and territorial organization 1.2.1 Harsh continental climate 1.2.2 Topology and vegetation cover, the transition between steppes and Siberian taiga 1.2.3 Pedology of rich bottom-valley soils 1.3 Territorial organization and dynamics 1.3.1 Management and enhancement of the different ecological environment 1.3.1.1 Grazing tracks 1.3.1.2 Forest and river environments 1.3.1.3 Arable lands 1.3.2 Administrative divisions and Binder sum center 1.3.3 Households economy 2. Agricultural sector in Binder sum 2.1 Herding 2.1.1 Evolution of the livestock since the dismantlement of the cooperative 2.1.2 Herds dynamics 2.1.3 The main productions 2.1.4 Economy of herders family 2.2 Beekeeping 2.3 Forestry 2.4 Crop production 2.5 Vegetable production 2.5.1 History of vegetable production 2.5.2 Current consumption and production of vegetables in Binder sum 2.5.3 Typology of the farmers 2.5.4 Production factors and farmers relationships 2.5.4.1 Land access 2.5.4.2 Seeds and genetic resources 2.5.4.3 Water access 2.5.4.4 Tools and equipment

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2 2.5.4.5 Work calendar, workforce and mutual assistance 2.5.4.6 Financial opportunities 2.5.5 Field practices management 2.5.5.1 Land preparation and protection against livestock 2.5.5.2 Rotation and crop association 2.5.5.3 Soil fertility management 2.5.5.4 Watering management 2.5.5.5 Pest and weed management 2.5.5.6 Greenhouses management 2.5.6 Performance and profitability of vegetable production 2.5.7 Commercialization and value chain in the vegetable sector 2.5.7.1 Storage and processing 2.5.7.2 Commercialization and barter 2.5.7.2.1 Vegetable prices 2.5.7.2.2 Vegetable sales 2.5.7.2.3 Barter 2.5.7.2.4 Public call for bid tender

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III. DISCUSSION, PERSPECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Limits of the methodology 2. Perspectives and limits of the vegetable sector development in Binder sum 2.1 Needs for improved cultivation practices 2.2 Breaking the vicious circle of market oversaturation 3. Conclusion and recommendations 4. Proposed topics for trainings and technical support

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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TABLE OF ANNEXES

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3 TABLE OF FIGURES Boxes Box 1: Bayan Gol, the historical seabuckthorn cultivation area of Binder sum Box 2: History of the grain companies of Binder sum Box 3: Dangers of glyphosate use Box 4: Description of the potato variety ‘Gala’

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Maps Maps 1 & 2: Geographic situation of Binder sum Map 3: Precipitation map of Mongolia Map 4: Map of vegetation and cultivated areas of Binder sum

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Pictures Picture 1: Forest distribution on the slopes of the sum center’s hills 12 Picture 2: Steppe landscape in the South of Binder sum 12 Pictures 3 & 4: Kastanozem soil profile and soil cover in the sum center 13 Pictures 5 & 6: Soil profile and soil cover of alluvial meadow gleyed soil in Zuun Bayan 14 Picture 7: Berry garden and summer greenhouse in Binder sum center 16 Picture 8: Panoramic view of Binder sum center 18 Pictures 9 & 10: Bee hives and hives cellar 24 Pictures 11 & 12: Log house and timbers for construction of log house in Binder sum center 25 Picture 13: Wheat fields in Binder sum 26 Picture 14: Kitchen and ornamental garden of a small vegetable grower in Binder sum center 31 Picture 15: Kitchen garden of a medium farmer 32 Picture 16: Vegetable field in Zuun Bayan (0.5 ha) 34 Picture 17: Gravity- fed irrigation system in Bayan Gol 37 Picture 18: Foton tractor 38 Picture 19: Summer greenhouse supplied through the SMEDF in 2016 38 Picture 20: Well and warming pool for irrigation in Binder sum center 39 Picture 21: Cauldron used for canning pickled vegetables 39 Picture 22: Fences made of small trunk and seabuckthorn branches in Bayan Gol 42 Pictures 23 & 24: Bird manure and fermentation of sheep manure 43 Picture 25: Vegetable field invaded by weeds in Bayan Gol 44 Picture 26: Carrots burned by unsuitable application rate in Binder sum center 45 Pictures 27 & 28: Underexploited summer greenhouses in Binder sum center 46 Pictures 29 & 30: Destroyed cellar of the Binder Agropark and individual cellar under construction 48 Pictures 31 & 32: Sales of vegetables in two different local stores of Binder sum center 50 Pictures 33, 34 & 35: Abandoned / Underexploited World Vision’s Agropark 53

4 Tables Figure 1: Rainfall and temperature diagram of Binder sum center from 2004 to 2015 Figure 2: Ground penetration rates of rainfall water in Onon River Basin (WWF, 2010) Figure 3: Physical and chemical characteristics of Kastanozems soils Figure 4: Evolution of Binder population from 1990 to 2014 Figure 5: Evolution of households owning livestock from 1991 to 2015 Figure 6: Age-group herders repartition in Binder sum in 2014 Figure 7: Livestock evolution in Binder sum from 1970 to 2015 Figure 8: Evolution of family livestock during household life Figure 9: Herding work calendar Figure 10: Cash flow calendar of Herders Figure 11: Production areas of the main vegetables cultivated in Binder sum Figure 12: Main activity of the vegetable growers of Binder sum in 2016 Figures 13 & 14: Prices of seeds, seedlings and young plants in Binder in 2016 Figure 15: Farming work and cash flow calendar Figure 16: Crop yield in a medium vegetable production are in Binder sum center Figure 17: Gross product of a farmer of Zuun Bayan owning a root cellar Figure 18: Gross product of a farmer of Zuun Bayan without storage capacity Figure 19: List and shape of cellars available in Binder sum center (administration data) Figure 20: Intra-annual variation of fresh vegetables Figure 21: Intra-annual variation of canned vegetables Figure 22: Scheme of vegetable market evolution in Binder sum from 2000 to 2016

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5 LIST OF ABREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS AND LOCAL TERMS Aimag Bag Buryat Ger Ha Kg m MNT

NAMAC SMEDF Sum Uriinsh Zuud

First level of Mongolian administrative division, equivalent of ‘province’ Third level of Mongolian administrative division, equivalent of ‘sub district’ Ethnical group living in the North and East part of Mongolia Traditional home of Mongolian nomadic people Hectare Kilogram Meter Tugrug (in June 2016, 1euro was equivalent to 2 250 MNT, in November 2016 it was equivalent to 2 600MNT) National Association of Mongolian Agricultural Cooperatives Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund Second level of Mongolian administrative division, equivalent of ‘district’ Traditional Mongolian grain crops rotation Term used to describe specific climatic situations that hinder livestock from grazing and lead to the death of many animals

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OVERALL CONTEXT, OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY AND WORK ORGANIZATION

I. OVERALL CONTEXT, OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY AND WORK ORGANIZATION 1. PROJECT OUTLINES AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY In the years following Mongolia’s transition to a market economy, the crop sector slumped.

A regression from which it took years to recover. Recent years have seen resurgence in the sector and steadily growing levels of production and consumption. However, despite the gains that have been made, the vegetable sector is still not self-sufficient and Mongolia imports about 40 percent of its vegetable from China. The development of agriculture as an economic alternative to mining is a priority for the government. It has the potential to provide better livelihoods for farmers and bolster the domestic supply of locally grown vegetables, but a number of challenges must first be addressed, including those related to production, storage, processing, marketing, prevailing legal framework and farmer’s organizations. (SDC, 2016) In February 2016, Caritas Czech Republic (CCR), in partnership with Group of Environment, Renewable Energy and Solidarity (GERES) and National Association of Mongolian Agricultural Cooperatives (NAMAC), started a 3 years project funded by the European Union aiming at strengthening the relationships between the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the agriculture sector and the Local Authorities (LAs), in the Khentii province, Mongolia. The project aims to empower CSOs (specifically those dedicated to supporting local farmers, which are called Agriculture Support Associations) to participate in local rural development initiatives and decisionmaking, and to facilitate interaction between LAs and farmers, ultimately supporting inclusive and sustainable development in the province.

The specific objective of the action is to improve the living conditions of the rural population of Khentii Province through raising the capacity of CSOs and fostering partnerships between CSOs and LAs. The project supports CSOs-LA partnerships, aiming at raising the capacity of CSOs, to develop new business opportunities and to strengthen rural short supply chains, to expand local food procurement, to support local producers to generate incomes, and to participate in policymaking, with the aim of improving the quality of life of the rural population.

As a necessary condition for an effective engagement of the project partners with the farmers, Agricultural Support Associations and the farming CSOs, a baseline agricultural situation study was conducted in one sum of the Khentii province, in the framework of a partnership with GERES, by a researcher of the AgroParisTech University which has developed a proven and robust methodology for diagnosis of regional agriculture.

The objectives of this agricultural situation study are the following outputs: • A description of the agricultural production in Binder sum and the local particularities • A description of the organization of the agricultural production and the relations between stakeholders • The potential initiatives that can be undertaken in link with the local context 2. METHODOLOGY APPROACH AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STUDY 2.1 Concepts and methodological framework The Agrarian System Analysis and Diagnosis is an all-encompassing concept capable of making sense of agricultural activities at a regional scale in a way that accounts both ecological and socio-economical dimensions. This methodology is use as a holistic approach, including all the fundamental factors that influence the farmer’s decisions and practices, with a great ability to understand the dynamics of farming activities and the agricultural evolution and

7 transformation in a region, in order to identify the potential opportunities for agricultural development.

The agrarian diagnosis methodology is a systemic approach which bridges different disciplines such as agronomy, sociology and economy, and is based on the premise of the interaction of all the components that composes the studied reality. This approach is moving from the general to the particular and incorporates different stages at different analysis scales. (Ferraton and Touzard, 2005) Agrarian system: The agrarian system scale is the agricultural region. It corresponds to a homogenous exploitation method of the environment, by a set of production systems characterized by common rules and practices.

Production system: A production system is a type of combination between land, workforce and work resources for the purposes of animal and vegetal production, common to a set of farms Farming system: The scale of the farming system is the plot or of a set of plots. It is defined on a set of plots in which the cultivation practices and the crop rotations and associations are the same.

Crop protocol: The scale of the crop protocol is the plot. It describes the cultivation practices implemented by the farmers.

To avoid collecting useless information, the qualitative understanding should go beyond the quantitative evaluation. As the quantification is the most cumbersome stage, it is desirable to limit its extent with a good understanding of the mechanics in play. On this basis the agrarian diagnosis methodology could be summed up into 5 stages as following: (Cochet & al., 2007) • Bibliographical studies: the purpose of this stage is to identify the current knowledge on history, economy, and farming problems linked to the local context, in order to prepare the fieldwork; • Landscape reading: this observation stage allows for the proper identification of large homogenous areas of the landscape (through climate, geology, topography, hydrology, pedology and vegetation cover studies) in order to understand their formations and to define a relevant study zone; • Historical study: the current agricultural situation is the fruit of a long or medium term evolution. This study is identifying the key factors of change, which create the actual agricultural practices. The question ‘why’ is a guide to meet the elderly and local people for a better understanding of land use change in the study zone; • Technical and economic interviews: the purpose of this stage, which is the core of the data acquisition, is to analyze deeply the functioning of the production system. This step enables the technical functioning of the farms and their relations to be understood.

These surveys also bring to light the technical problems encountered by the farms (lack of equipment and/or knowledge, land and pest management, work peak, cash flows and their links with liquidity requirements…). The technical knowledge of the farming system is a key condition to evaluate the added value and the agricultural income accruing by the assessed farmers; • Production system modeling and performance economic calculation: this stage leads straight into economic field. The comparison of performance economic of production system will clarify and explain why in the same region farmers practice different production systems.

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OVERALL CONTEXT, OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY AND WORK ORGANIZATION

2.2 Conduct of the study The study started with a bibliographic study in February and March in order to reference and synthetize the current standard of academic knowledge regarding to Khentii Province, specifically about agricultural and vegetable productions.

In April a preliminary study was conducted by the GERES team in the northern sums of Khentii province (Omnodelger, Binder, Norovlin, Bayan-Adraga and Dadal) in order to identify the most relevant sum in which conducting the agrarian diagnosis. Those northern sums were selected on the basis of an active crop and vegetable production. In order to acquire an accurate and clear understanding of agricultural situation the study focused in each sum on: • Climate and geographical information • Biological diversification • Agricultural development, environment • Local population information – majority of income generation activity etc.

• Vegetable production and the vegetable consumption in governmental bodies.

The researcher has then conducted the fieldwork from April to the end of August, conducting the different steps of the methodology with a translator and a driver to cover the long distances between the different production areas of the selected sum. He interviewed around 10 officials, 46 herders, and 24 farmers through in-depth interviews and focus group.

From July to the end of August the GERES team in Khentii studied with the same but simplified methodology, the vegetable production situation in Kherlen and Murun sum in order to compare it with the results of the agrarian diagnosis in Binder.

3. SELECTION OF THE RESEARCH AREA On the basis of the results of the preliminary study in the North part of Khentii Binder sum was selected as the research area by the project partners, in consultation with the ASA network and the LAs. Binder sum has a relatively high amount of vegetable production: 20 ha of potatoes and 12 ha of vegetables are referenced. The importance of vegetable production in the sum is crystallized with the organization of the ‘Harvest Celebration’ in September.

From a practical point of view, Binder sum seemed appropriate for the implementation of the project for the following reasons: • Binder agro climate allows seedlings around the beginning of March in Passive Solar Greenhouse, plantation of root vegetables at the beginning of May, and transplantation of nurseries production around 15th of June. The sum has sufficient rainfall from May to August, offering a good air hygrometry and enough water resources to cultivate a relatively large palette of vegetable varieties; • Mainly of the activities of the Binder vegetables producers are led by hand labor but they recently have an ease to access to some agricultural machines since the Agricultural Department offer them loan possibility (0.6%) to buy cheap tractor (5 million MNT); • Most of the sum’s vegetable producers mentioned their wish to learn and develop agroecological practices, without herbicides and pesticides use, which is relevant with the project goal of developing organic vegetable productions; • Binder is relatively populous with 4023 habitants for 1252 households mapped, with 24 tons of vegetable consumption in the social services (hospital, school and kindergarten) for an amount of 30 million MNT, offering good potentialities for the commercialization of vegetable productions;

9 • Binder also has a presence of tourist camps that offer potentialities for the development of vegetable market.

Thus, Binder sum constitutes a strategical vegetable production area, offering a priori a potential for the development of the sector. For all this reasons Binder constitutes an interesting and relevant research subject. Furthermore, Binder sum is very centralized in the northern sums of Khentii and as such could have been representative of the other northern sums agro-climates, offering the potentiality of a scaling-up of the study.

10 II. FINDINGS AND RESULTS 1. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE STUDY AREA 1.1 Binder in few figures Surface

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Number of habitants Human density

5366 km² 4023 (1252 households) 0,74 hab/km²

The main economic activity is livestock breeding, especially bovine and ovine breeding. The main productions are meat, dairy products and cashmere. On the 1252 registered households in the sum, 479 are breeders, to which can be added 271 households possessing livestock untrusted to breeders.

The sum center is situated to the confluence of Onon and Khukh rivers, 184 km (about 4 hours of track driving) from Chinggis Khot, the aimag center, and 408 km (between 8 and 10 hours commuting) from the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator.

Maps 1 and 2: Geographic situation of Binder sum

1.2

Pedoclimate, landscape and territorial organization

1.2.1 Climate Map 3: Precipitation map of Mongolia (OSU Spatial Climate Analysis Service)

11 The climate is harshly continental, marked by significant variations in temperatures, at the daily or the yearly scales. The average temperatures are below freezing 6 months per year, from mid-October to mid-April (January -23°C, July 19°C). Precipitations are low with an average of 309 mm for the period from 2004 to 2013 and extremely variable from year to year: precipitations are comprised between 143 and 450 mm in the sum center for the same period.

The precipitations are mainly brutal rainfalls that occur in summer, when the evaporation is the most important. Due to the scope of the study area the precipitation gradient decreases by approximately 100 mm from the North to the South (400 mm in the North and 300 mm in the South). This gradient is fundamental to explain the following points: • The southward depletion of the permanent streams • The southward depletion of forest and trees (real forest cover in the North, isolated trees in the South) Figure 1: Rainfall and temperature diagram of Binder sum center from 2004 to 2015

The climate is characterized by a strong continental weather with four distinctive and contrasting seasons. The winter from November to March is very cold and dry. A dry and windy spring follows it (winds were reported as 10m/s, 20-30 days per year); temperatures remain outstandingly low, even if they are becoming gradually positives during the day. Precipitations remain limited and mainly occur in the form of snow. From April the average temperatures return to positive, precipitations gradually increase and the vegetative period starts. Length of the growing season is fluctuating widely from a year to another, is usually starting in April and ending during the month of October. The June to August period is the most conducive to the vegetation growth as the precipitations are relatively abundant (the two third of the yearly rain water) and as the temperatures are higher (Sheehy, 1993). Autumn is a short transition period (Mid-August to the end of October) meanwhile temperatures and precipitations are decreasing, the first frosts appear and the vegetation growth cease.

The winds, coming from the North-North West, strong in winter and particularly violent during the spring months, decrease the apparent temperature and make climatic conditions extremely difficult to handle in the wind-exposed areas. Wind direction is a fundamental data to understand the vegetation repartition, especially of the trees.

1.2.2 Topography and vegetation cover The research area is characterized by a succession of valleys overall oriented toward WestEast, situated between 1000 and 1100 m of altitude, and hills that rarely exceed 1500 m. The valleys are wide, flat on the bottom with deep, well-drained and friable soils that host a dense steppe (1.5 to 1.8 tons of dry matter per hectare). The gentle slopes limit the flow of the rainfall water and make the valley-bottoms wet or swampy. The waterways are mainly small streams but nevertheless can spearhead wide valleys, indicating the presence of heavy flows during the

12 glacial periods. Affluent, often disappeared, let a large number of secondary valleys that are sometimes still hosting a spring. The slopes exposed to the prevailing winds are occupied by abundant vegetation: on the top the forest canopy dominates a relatively dense steppe. At the opposite, the slopes protected from the winds as well as the top of the slopes where bedrocks outcrop host a less dense steppe (0.5 to 1 ton of dry matter per hectare).

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Picture 1: Forest distribution on the slopes of the sum center’s hills

As such, vegetation highly variates according to the level of the specific toposequence (valley-bottom, slope exposed or not to the winds‌) but also according to the latitude (rainfall gradient).

To the North of the sum the forest cover is very dense and extended as trees are even growing on the winds exposed slopes. The steppe (open herbaceous layer) is very dense, to the point of becoming grasslands (close herbaceous layer) in the valley bottom. Going southward the forest cover peters out, the trees only appears on the wind protected slopes before completely disappearing, as well as the grasslands.

Picture 2: Steppe landscape in the South of Binder sum

1.2.3 Pedology In - - - - - -

Mongolia soils present in overall the following characteristics: Sporadically distribution of permafrost from 0.5 to 2.5 meters Domination of soil forming process in the minus temperature A very short biological active period from 3 to 5 months per year Slow process of chemical weathering and clay formation Carbonate accumulation in the steppe soils Stony soil profile and organic accumulation layers

13 Figure 2: Ground penetration rates of rainfall water in Onon River basin (WWF, 2010) Ground water run-off (mm/ year) 5-10 10-20 20-50 50-100 >100

Precipitation rate (mm / year) 500 400-500 300-400 Penetration rate Penetration rate Penetration rate 1-3 3-7 5-13 10-20 >50 >50

Average penetration rate 2 5 9 15 50

Bayan Gol and the sum center have Kastanozem soils, also called “chess-nuts� soils because of the typical color of the first thin and humus-rich horizon. These soils are typical of the North steppe areas of Mongolia. This soil is sandy and muddy with stony horizons, rich and welldrained. The deeper horizon is characterized by alkaline and high salt content.

Picture 3 and 4: Kastanozem soil profile and soil cover in the sum center

Figure 3: Physical and chemical characteristics of Kastanozem soils

14 Zuun Bayan soil has a dark-color alluvial meadow gleyed soil. Soil is deep with a first horizon very rich in organic matter and well-drained as it got high proportion of sand after all.

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Picture 5 and 6: Soil profile and soil cover of alluvial meadow gleyed soil in Zuun Bayan

1.3 Territorial organization and dynamics 1.3.1 Management and enhancement of the different ecological environment 1.3.1.1 Grazing tracks Bovines are valuing the tall herbs of the wet rangeland. They are unable to clear a rangeland cover by the snow but they are able to graze the tall and heavy weeds that grow under the trees, difficult to digest and offering a very low nutritional value. Those tall weeds constitute a kind of guarantee for the herders in case of heavy snowfall, as their height combined to the protection offered by the trees ensure their affordability by the bovine.

The small ruminants (caprine and ovine) can exploit the herbs of the less dense steppes as they are adapted to it. Their monitoring in the forest areas, where the wolf is still very present requires more work and care than in an open steppe environment.

Equines are able to dispense with water for two days and to travel long daily distance (until 30 km) which allows them to exploit rangeland far away from the watering places.

1.3.1.2 Forest and river environments Forest environment, mainly constitute of larch trees, offers many resources. Timber products are used for construction (log houses, fences‌) and dead wood is an appreciated and cheap combustible for the heating systems (stoves) even if collecting and cutting it requires time and workforce. As said above, the forest offer interesting rangeland for the bovine during winter, but they are also an adapted environment for beekeeping during the summer season. They also offer non-timber products such as berries (blackcurrant, blueberry, wild plum, hawthorn‌), mushrooms or pine nuts highly prized for their nutritional and medicinal benefits in one hand, and for their commercial interest in the other hand. Forest mushrooms are not really consumed but can be harvested and sold in Ulan Bator. Hunting is an important activity in Binder sum that offers meat and furs.

The rivers are used for watering animals, crops and vegetable fields. Fishing is also an important activity in Binder: the fish consumption is much higher than in many parts of Mongolia and fishing seems to be also an interesting economic activity (fishes are sold in Ulan Bator) as many local fishermen are mentioning an increase of poaching in the region.

15 1.3.1.3 Arable lands Despite the richness of the soils in the valley-bottom, few of them are exploited for agricultural activities. This low level of exploitation could be explain by the climatic constraints that do not allow a consequent growing season and multiply the risks for the farmers, by the lack of trades and services related to the sector, and by some land use conflicts with the herders that usually used those areas for grazing their livestock in summer.

For reasons of water access the main agricultural plots are situated close to the permanent streams. Most part of this plots are dedicated to grain production as wheat, oat and barley, mainly alongside the Khukh River.

Vegetable productions are not really common in Binder sum; the three main sites of production are the following: • Bayan Gol, situated ½ hour driving South-East of the Sum center. It is a 5 ha plot defined as the Agropark of the sum. Theoretically, all the sum’s citizens can apply and be assigned a small plot inside it. In practice, as the site is quite far from the sum almost no one is applying for it. A professional vegetable producer is using more than a half of the plot and only around a dozen of families, mainly herders living around the plot, are using it for their own consumption, exploiting an average of 100 m2.

• Zuun Bayan alongside a small creek which draws the border with Omnodelger sum is situated 1 hour and twenty minutes driving from the sum center. It has the reputation of being the richest soil of the entire province and many farmers, even from Kherlen sum (the Khentii province center, 4 hours driving from the south), have tried to grow vegetables here. The zone is mainly dedicated to crop production but a small number of vegetables producers are located on both sides of the creek. On Binder side five vegetable growers are exploiting an average of 1.5 hectare. They are the main vegetable producers of Binder sum and represent around 65% of the total production of root vegetables and cabbages, which are the main productions of the sum.

• The sum center is also an important place of vegetable production where home-use vegetable growers are exploiting small part of their yards (average of 100 square meters).

It represents around 80% of the vegetable growers of the sum.

However, the trend for the newly set-up plots is toward berries production, mainly blackcurrant and seabuckthorn. As a matter of fact, the vegetable growers seem more interested in experimenting new species and varieties of berries than new vegetables. Seabuckthorn is particularly popular, there were officially 19.5 ha of it in Binder but this number seems overestimated and official statistics should be used very carefully. It is therefore more likely that the total area dedicated to the seabuckthorn does not exceed 7 ha, counting the not maintained and isolated trees. This general interest for the berry garden can be explained by the following points: • Wild harvest is a challenging activity: harvest sites are far away from the sum center (around one day driving); in summertime the forest is a harsh environment (rain, mosquitos, bears, mud…); it is also a very physical activity (carrying loads of up to 50 kg).

• There is a large demand and the market is quiet developed.

• Planting trees is socially respectable, and tree planters are seen as ‘good person’.

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FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Picture 7: Berry garden and summer greenhouse in Binder sum center

Box 1: Bayan Gol, the historical seabuckthorn cultivation area of Binder sum

HISTORICAL SEABUCKTHORN AREA OF BINDER SUM First seabuckthorn of Binder have been planted in Bayan Gol in 1976. The cooperative have planted 3 000 trees on a 4 ha plot, just beside the area dedicated to vegetable growing. Seabuckthorn have reached a production peak around 6 to 7 tons of juice. Today those trees are old, not properly maintain and production is decreasing. The arborist managing the orchard, which is also the main farmer of Bayan Gol, dedicate very little time to it even more that he is focusing on haying, whose period corresponds to that of the seabuckthorn harvest.

17 Map 4: Map of vegetation and cultivated areas of Binder sum

1.3.2 Administrative divisions and Binder sum center The sum is divided in 5 bags. Four of them have more or less the same size on the NorthWest, North-East, South-West, South-East and the central one is smaller but the most populated.

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FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Picture 8: Panoramic view of Binder sum center

The sum center is a small town which hosts around 3 500 citizens, with an annual population growth of 0.36%. It hosts the local and national administrations (agriculture department, labor department‌), public services (hospital, school, social welfare services‌) and the core of the local economy. The sum is connected to the central energy network since 2005.

Figure 4: Evolution of Binder population from 1990 to 2014

1.3.3 Households economy In 2013, 1473 workers have been registered in the sum, which 887 as herders, 226 as employees of the herding sector, 21 in the agriculture sector, and 294 in education, health and administration sector.

Thereby, economy of households in Binder sum is mainly depending on herding but also on forest resources, especially regarding to the poorest households. Vegetable production is a significant source of income for some elder households (over 45 years). However, since the beginning of the 2000s the proportion of households depending on herding is decreasing. More and more of them are relying on multi-activities.

19 Figure 5: Evolution of households owning livestock from 1991 to 2015

This observation is especially true for the young generations as shows the graph above.

Figure 6: Age-group herders repartition in Binder sum in 2014

2. AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN BINDER SUM 2.1 Herding 2.1.1 Evolution of the livestock since the dismantlement of the cooperative Natural and weather conditions of the Onon Basin are very suitable for raising cattle, horse and sheep. Accordingly, these livestock have been formed and run for years within the basin.

Binder’s livestock has been noteworthy stable between 1970 and 1991. The succession of two very harsh winters, with important snowfall in 1992 and 1993, right during the decentralization of the livestock system caused by the dismantlement of the cooperative, have significantly affect the livestock (-30% bovine / -40% ovine). The sum’s livestock scarcely had time to recover that another devastating winter occurred in 2002. The rise of the livestock that have followed this zuud have been tremendous. Due to the absence of grazing tracks access regulation and exportation value chain, herders aimed to accumulate the maximum of livestock, particularly the small ruminants as their reproduction rate is much higher than the big ruminants’ one.

Moreover, in recent 25 years, a drastic change in the herd structures has been made as local herders had an interest to raise more goats in connection to the increasing cashmere market prices. Thus, from 1993 the caprine population has been multiply by 6 in 20 years.

This development logic is really alarming. As a matter of fact, forage resources are limited and such a fast-moving race can easily lead to an overgrazing crisis. Some summer rangelands

20 are already overgrazed and the situation can only get worse. It will be increasingly difficult for the animals to build up their fat reserves. This region, which until now was not as hit by zuuds, is facing each winter with a higher risk of livestock mortality that could let many herders impoverished.

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Figure 7: Livestock evolution in Binder sum from 1970 to 2015

2.1.2 Herds dynamics The size of the herd depends on the amount of capital available and on the workforce. The female are as far as possible kept for the reproduction. The sex ratio indicates a high proportion of males compare to the females. Indeed, the herders find it advantageous to keep the males when it is possible for the following reasons: • Males constitute the most practical form of saving. Herders rarely cash out some of their equity into banks as interest rates are unfavorable. Thus, livestock is the best way to keep their wealth. The old males are sold according to the needs of the family.

• They constitute an anti-random stock. The poorest herders that were not able to create such a stock of male are obliged in case of necessity to sale the breeding females, which can lead to the decapitalization of the herd.

• Geldings are used for traveling (herd surveillance, trip to the sum center).

• Goat males produce more cashmere.

The main causes of death are the harsh winters, the diseases (rabies, brucellosis…), and wolf predation. The veterinarian services are supporting struggle against diseases and parasites: herders benefit from free vaccinations, and a large majority of them invest in anti-parasite treatments.

2.1.3 The main productions Wool and cashmere: - When spring is starting the weather warms first on the East side of Mongolia. There is therefore a significant gap between cashmere wool combing periods (end of March in Binder), and the first cashmere of the season benefits from higher prices (63 000 MNT / kg at most in 2016). The production is sold in raw form to middlemen in the sum center. Thus, cashmere can be an important potential source of income for the herders, explaining the high increase of goats in Binder livestock those last years. Combing is usually done in 10 days and herders do not hesitate to hire outside workers to keep the best timing possible.

21 - Sheep are sheared between the end of June and the beginning of July and the wool is sold to middlemen in the sum center. The wool production per ovine is around 1kg per animal and prices are low, around 500 MNT / kg. Some herders burn the wool and shear their sheep only for their welfare.

Meat: - Sheep and goats are slaughter from beginning of spring until autumn for homeconsumption. Sales are concentrated in autumn when animals are fat, thereby the offer is high and prices are at the lower but the needs for cash requirements are very important in this period (especially to pay school furniture and uniform for the children).

- Cattle are usually slaughter at the beginning of November. A 200 kg carcass was sold slightly less than 1 million MNT. Cattle are sold live and the transportation costs to Denjiin 1000, the Ulan Bator livestock market, is around 60 000 MNT. In autumn 2015 meat prices dropped sharply by about 30%. The threat of a severe winter following a dry summer has compelled herders to sell the weakest animals, leading to market saturation.

A similar phenomenon is happening in 2016, with many Mongolian provinces declared in a zuud situation.

Milk and dairy products: - Summery milking cow (beginning of June to the end of August) is an important work peak for the herders. Cows are milked twice a day during the lactation peak and once a day during late lactation (October to December). Milk is processed in many different products for sale and home-consumption. Main products are cream (tsutsgii), butter, aaruul and vodka.

- Goat, sheep and horse are not milk in Binder sum as milk cow is abundant in the region.

2.1.4 Economy of herder family Survival threshold: The survival threshold is determined by an equilibrate herd allowing the household to meet their need for food and to earn sufficient income to buy essential products. This threshold value is around 4 cows and 13 ewes. It is a fragile balance as any small incident can break it up easily (for instance, veal killed by a wolf).

Life cycle of herder family: The ratio between the consumption and the production capacity of household is evolving over time, according to the ages of its members and thereby to their work capacity.

Herder’s household recently settled start with a few amount of livestock and capitalize as much as possible during the 20 first years. When their children reach adulthood the household commits to a decapitalization phase. In this period two situations can be distinguished: - If children are pursuing studies the decapitalization is made in a continuous way, as studies need to be paid every year.

- If children are becoming herders the decapitalization is made step by step, each children receiving a part of the parent’s livestock When children are independent, parents are getting older and breed small herd. If they got surplus it is use to help the children.

22

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Figure 8: Evolution of family livestock during household life

Work technical limit: The work technical limit is essential in understanding the pastoral systems differentiation.

Two main work technical limits can be determined on the basis of the main agro-systems of Binder sum: - In wooded area, the work technical technic is determined by monitoring and surveillance of herds, when herders get closer to the forests. In these areas it is quite rare to meet with herds up to 50 animals.

- In steppe area, the work technical limit is determined by calve period. In order to take properly care of the new born and to limit the mortality herders cannot monitor more than 250 gestating females.

When herders accumulate livestock over the work technical limit, they have several options: - Increase the rate of cull female in order to stabilize the herd around the work technical limit; - Diversify his livestock to fill the work calendar; - Milk only a part of the herd (in the case where the limit is linked to milking); - Hire employees.

One or several of these strategies can be adopted by the herders.

Herding calendars: Figure 9: Herding work calendar

23 Figure 10: Cash flow calendar of Herders

2.2 Beekeeping Beekeeping appeared in Binder sum in 2010, spurred on by the NGO World Vision. A group of 10 people was created and trained to beekeeping and each adherent received 5 beehives. The NGO also financed the construction materials to build a cellar for the storage of the beehives during winter (3*6*2m cellar, 300 beehives capacity).

This project was quite successful as some of the beekeepers get up to 70 beehives on 2016. The first year beekeepers used to work together but this behavior changed as they now all have improved their knowledge and skills, and as it is impossible to set up more than 100 beehives on the same site. The group is now separating in two and planned to build a new cellar to address the needs. Thus, many project participants that used to be vulnerable herders have decided to focus on beekeeping and are no longer trying to increase their livestock. For those producers, beekeeping is the main activity during summer (relocating hives, anti-parasite treatments, follow-up, harvest‌) and they devote their winter time to the construction of new hives in order to prepare swarming of the upcoming season. 3 beekeepers have reached their work technical limit and are now expecting to hire 2 workers each in 2017, which they will especially train to beekeeping.

The economic success of this project can be explained by the fact that the market of local honey was inexistent in Binder (the honey was coming from Russia or from Batshireet) despite a sizeable demand, as honey is searched for its nutritional and medicinal qualities. One beehive is producing around 25 kg during a wet year (5 or 6 harvests) and 8 kg during a dry year (2 or 3 harvests) with an average of 15kg. At retail the kilo of honey is sold 30 000 MNT but it take relatively longtime to sell all the production. Since 2 years all the beekeepers of Binder had the opportunity to contract with a company that collect the honey, pack it and sell it in the biggest cities of Mongolia (Gatsuurt Trade LLC) and pay 20 000 MNT per kilo. Despite a 30% lower price compare to the retail one, this contract guarantee the beekeeper to sell their entire harvest, reducing the marketing and sales efforts, and saving time to concentrate on the production during peak periods. The biggest producers have reported an income of 16 000 000 MNT for 70 hives in 2015, with 20 000 000 MNT turnover and 4 000 000 MNT of expenditures.

If beekeeping is today an attractive activity, the sector in Binder sum could be jeopardized by an oversized increase of the number of hives in the sum that could drive prices down. As from now beekeepers only produce honey it could be interesting for the sector to improve the value chain (wax, pollen, royal jelly, propolis‌).

24

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Pictures 9 and 10: Beehives and beehives cellar

2.3 Forestry Approximately 80% of the forest in Binder sum is larch (Larix sibirica), followed by birch (Betula platyphylla), poplar (Populus suaveolens and Populous tremula) and Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris). Willow occurs in riparian areas.

Use of timber resources, both legal and illegal, is for constructing the shell of log houses, both for own use and for sale. Binder sum, like neighborhood sums, as a high percentage of Buryat people and very few people live in gers, but use traditional Buryat log cabins. Most households, except sum center households, have a summer and a winter house. For poor households, income from berries in general makes up a higher percentage of annual household income than in average. With regarding to poverty and access to forest resources, the most striking finding is that poorest household access forest resources as laborers, being paid low wages for their labor (logging, transporting, cutting boards‌). The resource is then treated by those with means of transportation, with connection to those in power, with financial means as their own. Those persons are able to add value and sell it as if it was theirs. If the poorest are able to sell any forest resources it is non-timber forest resources (berries, nuts) and they are not able to add value on it as they have to sell them at low prices to local traders. Moreover, Siberian pine (Pinus pumila) does not occur in Binder sum, and people collect nuts in the neighborhood of Batshireet.

Poaching of wildlife has been and still is significant; species such as red deer, roe deer, musk deer, marmot, bear or squirrel have dramatically declined, due to poaching by both local and outsiders. Currently, wildlife hunting and poaching appears to be more for consumption than trade. Buryat people are traditionally known as good hunters.

Before 1990, 6 forest rangers and a professional forest service were in charge of forest regulation. Nowadays only one Environmental Inspector is in charge of it. In 2005 the government has transferred the responsibilities of managing the forest to the local community through the creation of forest protection associations. Those are groups of local inhabitants contracted by the State to obtain the right of cleaning a delimited forest area in return of their commitment to protect the forest. In practice they get the right to use dead woods but have no right to cut timbers, and have to pay a 2 500 MNT fee for each cube meter of wood collected with a maximum quota of 8 m3 per adherent. However, many families do not hesitate to collect more than 30 m3 on purpose of selling it in the sum center (20 000 to 25 000 MNT/m3).

The first associations appeared in 2010 in Binder, and there are nowadays 27 of them clustering between 20 and 30 families. Each association has a dedicated forest area and does not have to pay for it. The size of the area is depending on the number of adherent in the association, and one of the only duties is that 80% of the adherents live around this area.

The right for cutting trees is reserved to a small number of sworn forestry enterprises, according to an annually fixed quota. Those enterprises have to pay twice for this right, paying both the State and the concerned association. Payment to the forest association is usually

25 made in kind, cutting some trees for the association adherents. Those enterprises could also be granted a forest area that is so under their responsibilities.

4 forestry enterprises are located in Binder. The first one has been created in 2010, at the same time as the first forest protection association. Two of them have been created recently, in 2015 and 2016. Until 2010 timber cutting was a non-regulated activity and it took 5 years to ensure the legislation is enforced correctly.

Forest resources utilization mostly concerns the 2 northern bags of the sum. Forests generate annually 3.5 to 4 million MNT to the sum through permits for firewood.

Pictures 11 and 12: Log house and timbers for construction of log house in Binder sum center

2.4 Crop production The transition from the planned economy to the market economy when the communist system fell apart led to the agricultural production collapse (70% reduction) and a decline in the returns. The crop contribution to the agricultural sector (livestock included) went up from 23% in 1989 to 10% in 1992. This collapse was the direct consequence of the disorganization of the sector, increase in production costs, limited access to credit, the lack of farmers training services, shortage of fuel and agricultural inputs (fertilizers, seeds…), and by a lack of innovation and technical researches.

Thus, whereas Mongolia was self-sufficient in cereal (wheat, barley and oat), in potatoes and vegetables in 1990, the country was only able to produce 25% of its wheat needs, 40% of the vegetable needs and 70% of the potatoes needs in the 2000s. In 2008 the Mongolian government launched a campaign for increasing the average annual gross harvest of cereals, potatoes and vegetables. Emphasis was placed on raising crop production and quality by increasing mechanization, improving and expanding acreage, raising crop yields, expanding irrigation, selecting cereal varieties better adapted to natural climatic conditions and better locations for cereal cultivation. The objectives of this campaign were: • Reach self-sufficiency in cereals, potatoes and vegetables • To renew agricultural machinery park • To train the new agricultural labor generation (qualified technicians, agronomists and specialists) • To improve the legal environment: increment of land tenure up to 20 000 ha per entity To reach this objectives the State have put in place the following measures: • A 30% of the market price grant for each ton of wheat • Subsidy up to 50% of the machinery costs • Subsidy up to 50% of the pesticides This campaign has reinvigorated the crop sector, attracting many non-agricultural enterprises.

Thus, in Binder 2 000 ha that Amjilt (a local cereal company) was not able to maintain are now exploited by a subsidiary of a mining company.

26

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Box 2: History of the grain companies of Binder sum THE THREE GRAIN COMPANIES OF BINDER SUM Amjilt is the successor of the brigade specialized in the crop production during the Negdel period.

1993: 4000 hectares, 1000-1500 ha sown every year 1995-1997: best agricultural enterprise of Khentii aimag 1997: best agricultural enterprise of Mongolia 2016: 930 ha of arable land, 450 to 500 sown every year; 5 to 6 employees during spring

and 10 employees in autumn.

The actual owner arrived in 1993 as an agronomist employed by the enterprise, and quickly became the director. Incrementally the other employees left the enterprise and the director purchased their shares until he became the unique owner of the enterprise.

Binderia bought in auction, in 2009, 2 179 ha that Amjilt has stopped to exploit, from which 800 ha are sown every year. Binderia is a wholly owned subsidiary of a mining company and there is no agronomist or crop production specialist to manage it.

Khukh bought in auction the other part of the unexploited arable land of Amjilt (954 ha). Khukh is the successor of the State Farm of the same name, originally located in Omnodelger sum in the South-West of Binder sum.

1992-1998: the production is getting lower and the 49% of the shares owned by the employees

are gradually bought by Khangai LLC (a company owning mills and a furniture

manufacture).

1998: Khangai LLC bought the 51% shares owned by the government and the production

run at full speed.

2016: The enterprise own 2 457 ha in Omnodelger sum but exploit also the lands of two

other companies, which although they possess arable land are predominately involved

in the harvest processing. One possess 1 439 ha in Omnodelger and the other 954 ha

in Binder. These 3 enterprises are owned by one company which is Khangai LLC.

The current crop cultivation system is more or less similar as the cooperative period. The area of the cereals plots can reach 10 ha with an average of 5 ha. A 2 years rotation, fallow / red wheat or sometimes oat, is realized in stripes inside of the same plots, locally named urinsh. The main objective of this rotation is to control weed populations growth, which are very invasive as a result of their adaptation to this steppe environment. Nowadays a significant difference compare to the centralized economy period is based on the choice for the farmer to use mechanic or chemical technics for the urinsh. Chemical technic is based on spraying glyphosate on the stripes. The mechanic technic is based on a succession of superficial ploughings throughout the growing season. The stripes are often done following the slope, leaving a bare soil. The absence of soil cover is the cause for the two following phenomena: • The loss of soil fertility through ammonium nitrates evaporation • The erosion of the soils during rain shower and high wind period Picture 13: Urinsh system in wheat crops

27 Box 3: Dangers of glyphosate use DANGERS RELATED TO GLYPHOSATE In March 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic in humans� (category 2A) based on epidemiological studies, animal studies, and in vitro studies.

Moreover, a correlation was found between an increase in the infection rate of wheat by Fusarium head blight and the application of glyphosate. Other studies have found causal relationships between glyphosate and decreased disease resistance. Exposure to glyphosate has been shown to change the species composition of endophytic bacteria in plant hosts, which is highly variable.

Lastly, glyphosate trends to be lixiviate in water environment which can become a contaminant source, impacting human health.

Concerning the soil fertility management, the high prices of the fertilizers and the size of the exploited areas make the costs of use for the crop enterprises prohibitive.

There is no irrigation system or equipment. Consequently the harvest is depending on the precipitation and the harvest could be really fluctuant from a year to another.

For the protection against livestock the crop companies prohibit the valley access to the herders and hire watchmen monitoring the area from the top of surrounding hills.

It should be noted that the cultivation system differs significantly from a crop company to another, especially concerning the soil fertility and the weed management. Thus, if Amjilt fields are exempt of weeds, the fields exploited by Binderia are full of it. This could be explained by the fact that Amjilt is managed by an agronomist while Binderia do not have any specialist. It seems clear that the mother company of Binderia, specialized in mining, has seen in agriculture a profitable investment, taking advantages of the public subsidies provided to the sector.

Consequently this company is exploiting these arable lands as well as they would do for a mine, and do not take in account the sustainability of the cultivation system.

2.5 Vegetable production 2.5.1 History of vegetable production Vegetable production was first introduced by the Chinese diaspora during the Manchu domination. They used to grow vegetables for their own consumption, as at this time Mongolian people did not eat vegetables.

When Buryat people fled Russia as a result of the civil war between 1917 and 1921, and set up in the North of Mongolia, they preserved their expertise on gardening and farming and have transmitted it to a part of the local population. However, these knowledge and skills have gradually disappeared during the centralized economy period. It was not forbidden to have a vegetable garden but mostly nobody had time to dedicate to this activity, as the cooperative was in charge of the timetables and did not let free time. During this period the vegetable consumption was limited to the kindergartens, schools and hospital. In order to supply these public bodies a cooperative brigade was specifically in charge of the vegetable production, producing mainly potatoes, root vegetables (carrots, turnips, beetroots) and a small amount of onions and cabbages. As each worker was specialized on one vegetable none of them was able to acquire large knowledge and skills in the agronomy field.

In 1986, before the centralized economic system collapsed, the father of a current farmer, trained as agronomist, has created the first vegetable farm of Binder sum, located in Bayan Gol, and has planted a 5ha orchard of seabuckthorn. At this time the farm was bigger than the actual plot of Bayan Gol and was able to furnish vegetables and berries to the 5 other northern sums of Khentii aimag until 1992. At this date, during the privatization, the State took back

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

28 many tools and equipment and the activity of the farm was severely reduced. However, the family invested on a tractor and on potatoes plantation mechanized tools in 1995, and the years from 1996 to 1998 were economically successful. In 1998 the Chinese products flooded the local market with lower prices than the production costs of the farm and the production collapsed.

Bayan Gold has been elected by the sum government to be the sum’s Agropark, where people were supposed to be trained. But this project felt down because of the distance from the sum center and because of the low interest of the citizens for vegetable growing. Nowadays a dozen of herders from the neighborhood use it for their own consumption and a professional farmer, son of the agronomist, cultivate the biggest part of the plot.

However the 90’s have also been a period of a new appropriation of vegetable growing and processing knowledge by some citizen of Binder sums that travelled to Russia. Anyhow this knowledge remained basic as those trips to Russia were short and mainly on trade purpose.

The current vegetable production situation in Binder has been influenced by Word Vision, which put down the roots in the North of Khentii in 2003, for a 15 years project. Many actions focusing specifically on vegetable production have been led: • “Seeds and tools”, a 2 years project (2007-2008) the goal of which was to provide along tools and seeds with basic trainings to the vulnerable households, in order to diversify their source of income.

• “Agropark”, a 4 years project (2010-2014) the goal of which was to develop vegetable production through demonstration farms and dissemination of knowledge, training specific groups whose membership included interests for the farming sector. Thus, 2 groups of 5 to 6 members were created, mainly made up of retired and unemployed people. Each group received a 1.5 ha and 120 m2 of greenhouse (1 greenhouse of 120m2 for one and 2 greenhouses of 60m2 for the other one). This half-hearted experience faced with many challenges: • Many of the group members were old or invalid, and the group has been reestablished many times.

• Members of the group were not so much interested in vegetable production and did not come often to the trainings and activities.

• Some members learned production and processing technics and left the group to grow vegetables on their side.

Today only one group resulting of this project still exists, named Binderia, but most of the members are located in Zuun Bayan. Half of the Agropark is totally ditched and the other half is really under-exploited (greenhouse and open field) and not correctly maintained.

• Sell or donation of greenhouses (between 5 and 10) in order to develop the production of summer vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants…) and to extend the cultivation season. But this initiative has not been really successful. Most of the beneficiaries could not afford to replace the plastic sheet as they are expensive and only can be bought in Ulan Bator. As consequences some of the greenhouses have been resold and many of them were abandoned.

• Donation of construction materials to build or rehabilitate cellars (in particular the school cellar) Word Vision affirms that 400 families have been trained in 5 years but it seems overestimated (and a family involved in different project was counted many times).

In 2016 the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) have contracted an import company to purchase 24 Korean greenhouses (4 of 20*6 m; 2 of 10*6 m; and 18 of 8*4 m), and granted a loan for the beneficiaries, with the aim of improving the self-sufficiency of the sum in summer vegetables.

Today the Agriculture Department has registered 89 vegetable growers in Binder sum, what

29 seems also overestimated. These official statistics should be analyzed really carefully as any gardener with a tiny area of production is considered as a vegetable grower. More likely, the number of home-used vegetable growers is around 30 in the sum center and 10 in Bayan Gol, and the number of professional vegetable grower can be estimated to 6.

2.5.2 Current consumption and production of vegetables Vegetables are not the main elements of the Mongolian diet. However, consumption of vegetables in Binder sum seems higher than the Mongolian average, at least when they are available, which is probably related to the high proportion of Buryat people in the sum. There is also a significant difference concerning consumption of vegetable within the sum related to the position of the households in the territory. In the sum center, where vegetables appear to be the most commercialized their consumption is higher than in steppe or forest territories, where they are not or rarely available.

Local vegetables are available from Mid-July to the end of December, and summer vegetables are only available until the end of September as it is not possible to store them properly.

The consumers always prefer to buy local vegetables, even if they are more expensive, than imported ones. Officially farmers from the sum are furnishing 65% of the vegetables consumed in the sum. This statistic seems again overestimated as the bid tenders for the kindergarten and the hospital have been won by external farmers (among other from Norovlin sum), and as it seems that vegetable consumption of the touristic ger camp have not been taken into account.

During the summer time a household with a kitchen garden consumes on average halfcabbage, 4 carrots, 1 onion, 1 cucumber and 8 potatoes per day (for approximately 10 members).

From time to time beetroots, turnips and sweet pepper enrich local menu. In winter time only root vegetables are available, and as the reserves are diminishing rapidly and the prices are getting higher, their consumption decreases significantly. The wintry consumption of vegetables by the households who live out of the sum center is very low or absent, which can lead to many nutritional deficiencies.

The main vegetables consumption levels in Binder sum are the hospital, the kindergarten and the boarding school. On those three public institutions, the kindergarten is the biggest purchaser and its procurement is the most diversified, which can be explained by the large number of young age children in the sum and their nutritional needs. It purchases 2.5 tons of potatoes, 1.5 tons of cabbage, 300 kg of carrot, 300 kg of turnip, 285 kg of onion and 135 kg of sweet pepper every year, for an average amount of 6 million MNT per year. Procurement of vegetable for the lunch school program is lower with an average of 200 kg of potato, 150 kg of cabbage, 150 kg of carrot and 50 kg of onion every year, for an average amount of 600 000 MNT per year. Yearly procurement for the hospital is around 800 kg of potato, 600 kg of cabbage, 1 ton of carrot and 50 kg of onion for an average amount of 2.6 million MNT. The center sum houses two local restaurants and three touristic ger camps with catering services. One of the local restaurant purchase around 800 kg of potato and 400 kg of various vegetables. The procurement of the other one is much more lower and the manager does not know the exact amount of purchased vegetables, especially since she grows a part of her vegetables in her own kitchen garden without accurate tracking. The procurement for the ger camps varies a lot from one to another, depending on their tourist attendance. As touristic season is not matching with the harvest period in the sum they usually buy their vegetables in Ulan Bator, without looking at their origin but with attention to the prices. Thus, vegetables in those restaurants are often coming from China. The ger camp with the main attendance (around 400 tourists in 2016) purchased around 1.5 ton of potatoes and 1 ton of various vegetables in 2016 to meet the touristic demand.

Statistics of the Agricultural Department mentioned 20 ha of potato production and 12ha of vegetables for the all sum, but it seems again overestimated. For instance, a 3 ha registered plot of potatoes and vegetables was measured by GERES as 1.5 ha cultivated area.

30

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Figure 11: Production areas of the main vegetables cultivated in Binder sum in 2016

There is no statistics regarding the weight of the harvest, and as majority of the farmers does not track their harvests it is difficult to get an accurate picture of the vegetable production in the sum.

2.5.3 Typology of the farmers Figure 12: Main activity of the vegetable growers of Binder sum in 2016

• Vegetable growers with a production area under 100 m2 (70%) This type concerns people who tend to be quite old (50 to 60 years old). They are largely former cooperative laborers which did not receive anything when it was dismantled and are now multi-actives as they need to multiply the sources of incomes (odd jobs, herding, beekeeping…) in order to ensure their autonomy. This multi-activity is usually time-consuming and can explain why they do not invest more time and area to vegetables cultivation. The herders that grow vegetables are usually neo-herders (they were not herders during the cooperative time). They own a few amount of livestock and are usually half sedentary or sedentary, living nearby the sum center. However, a small amount of herders living around the sum’s Agropark of Bayan Gol are using it to cultivate their vegetables.

They mainly grow vegetables using a part of their own grounds, dedicating more than 50% of their production area to potatoes. Another 40% of the area is dedicated to carrots and cabbages, in equal proportions. The remaining area is dedicated to onions, beetroots and turnips (few square meters). They mainly focus on root vegetables in order to preserve the harvest as long as possible, in small root cellars (1 to 2 m3) usually located under the house.

Their yards, usually around 700 m2, are usually protected by wood fences. But as a part of it is also dedicated to animal husbandry (poultry, pigs, veal…) they have to set-up a second fence to protect their kitchen garden. Despite this second protection, a momentary loss of focus (as letting the door open) could lead to many irremediable damages. Ruminants are usually eating cabbages, carrot leaves and beetroot leaves, but a pig can destroy an entire plot of potatoes in few minutes. The cost of this second fence and the importance of breeding animals is also a reason that explains why some of those farmers are not cultivating a larger area.

31 They grow vegetables for their home consumption, in order to improve family nutrition. If there is any surplus (usually the notion of surplus is not based on the amount of the harvest but on the quantity that they are able to store) they are usually sent to the members of the family that lived in cities, or bartered for meat and dairy products with herders from the neighborhood.

The work is completely done by hand, from seedling to harvest, usually by women. However, with the recent democratization of small tractors, some of them make arrangements with neighbors for ploughing. Those famers have a weak knowledge base and usually not optimize their time and efforts, which impact significantly the profitability of the production. For instance, watering out at the right time and in a wrong way could be sometime more prejudicial than a lack of watering: spreading cold ground water at noon can highly weaken the plants, causing thermal shock to the roots and burning the leaves by a magnifying effect.

Picture 14: Kitchen and ornamental garden of a small vegetable grower in Binder sum center

• Vegetable growers with a production area between 100 and 500 m2 (20%) Those vegetable growers are also located in the sum center or directly nearby and also use the small patch of land granted by the State to each couple, eventually extended with the plot of parents or neighbors that have left the sum for a city.

The profile of those people is relatively similar to the one cultivating an area under 100 m2.

This type concerns people who tend to be quiet old (55 to 70 years old). It is largely composed of former workers of the cooperative which did not receive anything when it was dismantled and are now multi-actives as they need to multiply their sources of incomes (odd jobs, herding, beekeeping‌) in order to ensure their autonomy. However, this type is also composed of more retired and unemployed people who have more time to dedicate to vegetable growing, and thereby to cultivate a larger area.

Other factors that allow explaining the exploitation of a larger area compare to the previous type are seniority and experience. As a matter of fact, those who have started vegetable cultivation longer ago are now exploiting a larger area for the two following reasons: - They had more time and money to invest for converting their yards into a sustainable cultivation area. The setting up of second fences and ploughing the soil is expensive or time-consuming, but once it done it is quite easy to maintain it.

- The farmers who have started vegetable growing as part of World Vision project took benefit from a quite large market. Selling prices were interesting compare to efforts and it was not so difficult to sell a large amount of vegetables. Nowadays more and more people are cultivating vegetables, but as the sum’s market is oversaturated by vegetable

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

32 offer at the same moment they are exploiting small areas exclusively dedicated to homeconsumption.

As the previous type, they grow vegetables using a part of their own grounds, dedicating more than 50% of their production area to potatoes. Another 40% of the area is dedicated to carrots and cabbages, in equal proportions. The remaining area dedicated to onions, beetroots and turnips (few square meters). They mainly focus on root vegetable in order to preserve the harvest as long as possible, in small root cellars (1 to 2 m3) usually located under the house.

However, there is two main distinction compare to the previous type: - Those farmers usually have planted a small berry garden mainly composed of some seabuckthorns and blackcurrants.

- Many of them have invested in a summer greenhouse to grow summer vegetables (exclusively cucumbers, tomatoes and sweet peppers).

Those farmers usually have biggest but still limited preservation capacities. Biggest cellars owned by farmers in this type are sometime able to house 3 to 4 tons of root vegetables. Some of them are canning a very small amount of vegetables (mainly cucumbers) in a vinegar and salt brine. They do not can a large quantity as they only got rudimentary equipment and that it requests a huge amount of time. They also think that a too high consumption of vinegar could be harmful for health.

There main motivation is to grow vegetables for their home consumption, in order to improve family nutrition. However, as they are cultivating larger area the surplus from it is usually higher. The surplus are also usually sent to the members of the family that lived in cities, bartered for meat and dairy products with herders from the neighborhood but also sold through the local stores or to relatives. The canned vegetables are rarely sold and are usually preserved for family consumption or offered to relatives.

Picture 15: Kitchen garden of a medium farmer – more than half of the area is dedicated to potatoes

• Vegetable growers with a production area around or over 1ha (less than 10%) This type includes 6 farmers for whom vegetable growing is the main or one of the main economic activities of their household. One of them is located in Bayan Gol and is in charge of the sum’s Agropark while the other ones are located in Zuun Bayan. Even if those two locations are far away from the sum center where they live, it allows them to exploit biggest areas and to benefit from richer soils and from stream water for irrigation. As vegetable production needs

33 a lot of maintenance they theoretically spend the most of their time into their fields during the season. But in practices two different strategies appear: - The farmers that spend most of their time on their field to optimize the production and so their investments.

- The farmers that only spend time on their field during the seedling / plantation period and the harvest period, reducing as much as possible the worktime dedicated to weeding and watering. In this case the return on investment is much lower but the time saved allows the farmer to dedicate it to other lucrative or strategic activity.

Those farmers are once again former cooperatives workers which did not receive anything when it was dismantled. They had opportunities and boldness to start vegetable cultivation 15 years ago or even more.

- The term of opportunity is justified by the fact that they have started this activity before that World Vision has developed it in the sum. At this time the vegetable market was especially interesting as the demand was high and the offer very low, so those farmers managed to capitalize and extend their production. But nowadays, even if they still are the main producers of the sum they are facing with a higher concurrence and their bargaining power is getting lower. Thus, a farmer from Zuun Bayan explained that 15 years ago he was supplying 30% of the sum’s needs and that nowadays he is only supplying 10 to 20% of it with a similar production.

- The term of boldness is justified by the fact that vegetable cultivation is a risky activity.

Investing savings during spring (seeds and small plants supply, ploughing‌) for a return on investment in autumn is financially risky considering the fragility of those households economy. Even more that the climate does not offer any guarantee concerning the quantity and the quality of the harvest. Low or inadequate precipitations, early freezing or snowing, hot and windy summer, or pest overpopulation can annihilate all the efforts made, and make this a hazard gambling.

They use only one plot to grow vegetables whose size ranges between 0.9 and 2 ha. As smaller farmer they dedicate around 50% of their production area to potatoes. Another 40% of the area is dedicated to carrots and cabbages, in equal proportions. The remaining area is dedicated to onions, beetroots and turnips (few square meters). They also mainly focus on root vegetable in order to preserve the harvest as long as possible. Their commercial production is exclusively open field one; and if they own a summer greenhouse it is usually located in the sum center and use for family consumption. It is quite difficult to maintain two such distant areas of production and the sum center production are usually neglected or confided to relatives.

Even if the work is mainly done by hand (seedling, watering, weeding, harvesting), it is usually more mechanized. Ploughing is always done with a tractor and some of them own equipment for planting or mounding the potatoes. Some of them also own pumps and hoses for watering but the most common irrigation systems are gravitational system composed of a network of canals.

There main motivation is to grow vegetables for their commercialization. But they are facing with an oversaturated market and their storage capacities are very low compare to the amount of their production, which is reducing the profitability of their activity.

34

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Picture 16: Vegetable field in Zuun Bayan (0.5 ha)

2.5.4 Production factors and farmers relationships 2.5.4.1 Land access As described above, around 90% of the vegetable growers are using their own kasha for the cultivation of vegetables. This land was until now granted by the local government to every Mongolian citizen over 18 years old in compliance with the Mongolian Land Law, but it seems that the Mongolian Law on Land will change in 2017.

According to the article 29 of this law, land to be given for possession to citizens for fenced areas with their private gers and houses for their household needs shall not exceed 0,07 hectares. In addition to land referred to in provision 1 of this article, land not exceeding 0,1 hectares may be given for possession to citizens for cultivating vegetables, fruits, berries and fodder plants. Land for cultivating vegetables, fruits and berries may be located next to the residential lots or in a location specifically designated for this purpose.

There are three steps toward acquiring land: - The Governor must pass a resolution accepting the Mongolian’s request to possess land; - After successfully passing of the resolution, a Land Possession Agreement is created between the Government authority and the citizen requesting land possession; - When the agreement is successfully executed, a Land Possession Certificate is issued.

The crop lands are selected during a Citizen’s Meeting (Khural) constituted of 21 locally elected representatives. Every year since the establishment of Mongolian Land law 4 or 5 ha are offered in auction with a reserve price of 135 000 MNT. For creating a new crop cultivation area without an authorizing decision of the relevant authority, a fine of 200 000 to 300 000 MNT on citizens and a fine of 1 to 2 million MNT on organizations and companies, along with confiscation of land and having the guilty person compensate the caused damages. With the permission from the corresponding Governor, the land possessor has the right to grant whole or partial use rights of the land to others. This granting of use of the land to others may be on the basis of land lease agreements or other similar agreements.

The state-owned land may be given possession with a license for duration of 15 to 60 years; in Binder sum the most common duration is 60 years. The land possession license may be extended for not longer than 40 years at a time. In the event of death or announcement of death of the possessor of land or if the land possessor is announced as missing, the legitimate heir, if hewishes, may transfer the land possession license to register himself/herself, and may

35 possess that land until the original expiration date of the license. In case the crop land license is not use for its intended purpose during 3 or 4 years after obtaining a license, the license shall be terminated, and offered on a closed auction.

The Land Management Department of the sum shall make a decision on creating new crop cultivation areas every year regarding to the sum Land Management Plan, soil quality and water access. The licenses accorded to these plots are offered on auction. Consequently, the amount of land accessible for vegetable cultivation is limited and accessing to it requires a capital often impossible to invest for the poorest households.

In the specific case of crop land the farmer theoretically has to respect some requirements: - to take measures at their expense to preserve land characteristics and quality, to prevent deterioration of soil fertility, deterioration of vegetation cover, soil erosion, degradation, soil becoming arid, marshy, soil salinization, its pollution and poisoning (chemical pollution) due to natural causes and human factors; - to restore and maintain at their expenses the land eroded and damaged due to digging it for mining purposes, preparing building materials, building rail and motor roads, mineral exploration and surveying, testing, research works and other activities; - It shall be prohibited to graze livestock and animals on crop lands from planting until the harvest season, unless land has been specially allocated for livestock or animal grazing.

2.5.4.2 Seeds and genetic resources Except for the carrots (which require direct seedling) and for the potatoes, the smaller vegetable growers do not supply seeds but directly buy seedlings to biggest farmers. Sowing requires specific knowledge and skills, that those farmers rarely have, and a specific infrastructure (as small plastic tunnel) that protects the seedlings from the cold and the wind. Thus, buying seedlings is a guarantee for them to start cultivation with well-developed vegetal materials, but also to save time on the production cycle and therefore to expect earlier harvests. Seedling plants are quite expansive as the demand is high and the offer limited. It can represent a significant source of income for the producers, moreover at a period when their sources of income are very limited or inexistent. The most produced plants are cucumbers and cabbages, but also tomatoes and sweet peppers, and more rarely squash, pumpkin and watermelon.

Seedlings are produced by biggest farmers that have learned basis of the technique through training and that have developed it from their own experience. They buy seeds in Ulan Bator, usually taking benefit from a trip to there on other purpose, from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry or from the individual sellers located very closely in the NAMAC building. It is also possible to buy seeds to a middle man directly in the sum but indeed with higher prices.

There is few or no monitoring on the origin of the seeds, with the exception of the country.

Information on the physical characteristics of the seed used, including planting date, length of growing period, maturity date, open-pollinated or hybrid are usually not known. Thus, it is difficult or impossible for the farmers to choose seeds adapted to the specific pedo-climatic context of Binder, or to set-up adapted crop protocols.

Some non-usual vegetables (parsley, pumpkin, cauliflower‌) have been introduced in Binder sum through a World Vision project but have been lost because of a lack of knowledge on seeds production and conservation. The only well know variety that they grow is a variety of potato, which is Gala.

36

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Box 4: Description of the potato variety ‘Gala’ GALA POTATO ‘Gala’ is an early-ripening firm-fleshed edible potato, for which good eating and keeping qualities are claimed.

The potato has typically a roughly oval form with shallow eyes which makes it particularly suitable for mechanical peeling. Yield per plant is relatively high, but a good water supply is vital. When cooked, the tuber suffers from only very minor discolouring. The variety has a bright yellow skin colour and a medium yellow flesh colour. It also has a very long dormancy period and it normally produced for the fresh market.

This variety is heat and draught resistant to potato cyst nematode. It is also resistant to Pallida types 2 and 3. It has a good resistance to foliar and soil born diseases and it also has good scab and black leg resistance.

Planting, using chitted seed potatoes, can be done at a depth some 2 cm deeper than normal since the plants are compact and easily lifted. To support irrigation requirements and nutritional qualities, the ‘Gala’ is also suitable for cultivation in relatively light soils.

Figures 13 and 14: Prices of seeds, seedlings and young plants in Binder in 2016 Seed and seedling prices Cabbage

1200-1500 MNT / 10 g

Cucumber

30000 MNT / 300 g

Tomato / pepper

1800 MNT / 10 g

Carot

37000 MNT / kg

Turnip/beetroot

800-1000 MNT / 10g

Potato Onion

Young plant prices Cabbage

1000 MNT/unit

Cucumber

1500 MNT/unit

Tomato

2000 MNT/unit

pepper

2000 MNT/unit

900-1100 MNT / kg

Watermelon

2000 MNT/unit

1000 MNT / kg

Squash

2000 MNT/unit

2.5.4.3 Water access The sum center is located very closely to the Onon River. Despite this proximity, it exists a large heterogeneity among the sum center, because of the ascending elevation from the East side to the West side. Thus, close to the river water is accessible from 4 to 6 meters deep. But on the other side of the sum center, some of the farmers need to dig around 40 meters to reach the water table. The cost of digging a well is around 150 000 MNT per meter.

It is consequently much easier and cheaper to dig a well on the river side, and the vegetable growers living far from the river usually do not have one. They use public wells once a day to supply water and store it in water tanks which the storage capacity is usually limited to 1 m3, barely covering a 100 m2 plot needs. For them water access is one of the most limiting factor of production as carrying water is very time-consuming and increase the costs because of fuel consumption. The related cultivation systems are thus close to rainfield production, making those farmers very dependent on climate.

The farmers that can dig easily a well usually do it by themselves. The well is also used as a fridge to save berries after harvest, extending conservation period. Some of them have constructed an intermediary warming pool in order to ensure an optimum temperature for watering and avoid thermal shock causes by cold water to the roots.

In Bayan Gol a gravity-fed irrigation network inherited from the centralized economy period ensures water supply, diverting water from a stream located 500 meters from the plot. This

37 irrigation system requires a constant presence to manage the derivations from the main canal to the different vegetable rows. As the plot is quite long there is heterogeneity of watering impact: vegetables close from the main canal receive more water than the most distant. With a good monitoring this system ensure a satisfactory water supply to the farmers but requires a lot of workforce for the yearly maintenance of the canals.

Picture 17: Gravity- fed irrigation system in Bayan Gol

In Bayan Zuun all the vegetables plots are located alongside a small stream which is an affluent of Khukh River. Some of the farmers have created a gravity-fed irrigation system, while other one are pumping water directly in the stream and are using hoses for watering. The capacity of the pumps is too low for watering correctly a 1 ha plot at once, and the farmers usually do not have enough hoses to equip all the rows of the plot. Thus, they have to remove the hoses from a row to another which is time-consuming.

2.5.4.4 Tools and equipment Hand tools: Main part of the work is made using hand tools. However, the diversity of tools used is very low and they are not always adapted to the tasks for which they are intended. For instance, shovels are used for digging up the plots: besides not being ergonomic thus being harmful for the workers, it creates a plough-pan which makes the soil harder and not easily penetrable by the vegetable roots. By the same order of idea, no pruning shears but simple scissors are used for pruning summer vegetables, which are not enabling good cuttings and increasing risks of infection.

The main hand tools used for vegetable growing are: shovel, hoe, rake, scissors and watering can. Those tools are usually bought in cities, in specialized shop but could be repaired if necessary in Binder sum by local blacksmith or by the farmer himself.

Tractors and mechanized tools: With the recent democratization of small tractors called pad (the name comes from its characteristic sound: “padpadpad”), land preparation works are much more easy. Thus, 58 Chinese tractors of Foton brand have been bought in the sum since the implementation of an agricultural support policy in 2012. The cost of the tractor is 5 million MNT, of which half of the price has to be paid during purchase, and the other half is an interest-free loan repaid to the Ministry of Agriculture. This tractor plays a role of ‘Swiss army knife’ of the agricultural sector. Thus, it is used by herders for haying, forestry workers for longshoring, and as well by farmers for land preparation and some cultural activities. Some of the farmers are equipped with implements mounted on the tractor as plow, potato seeder or harvester that could be used as a mounding cultivator with the adequate adjustment. Famers

38 that does not have tractor are borrowing it to relatives or rent it (price for tractor rent is very expensive: around 60 000 MNT for 250 m2, including fuel and driver).

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Picture 18: Foton tractor

Greenhouses: First greenhouses in Binder sum appeared through Word Vision project. Many of those greenhouses have been dismantled or resold but some of them are remaining. In 2016, the SMEDF granted loans for the purchase of 24 greenhouses (for a total amount of 1 176 m2).

Many people applied for it, taking benefit from the loan and free transportation costs.

A small farmer of the sum center own a Passive Solar Greenhouse inherited from the soviet period, but does not use it at its maximum potential and only grows few summer vegetables in it, as if it was a summer greenhouse.

Picture 19: Summer greenhouse supplied through the SMEDF in 2016

Watering: As described above the watering equipment is rudimentary. Many farmers are only using water tank to store water and water can for watering vegetables. The best technically equipped for watering farmers are using pumps and hoses (drawing water from a well or directly from a stream), and some of them are using a warming pool.

39 Picture 20: Well and warming pool for irrigation in Binder sum center

Processing equipment: Usually farmers are canning vegetables with their own cooking cauldron. Procurement of jar for canning could be complicated. Farmers usually buy jars from their relatives and neighborhoods (around 500 MNT per jar) who have stored it when they have consumed industrial products, creating an unofficial and local return system.

Only one of the interviewed farmers has invested in a vacuum machine to increase the lifespan of grated vegetables such as carrots, cabbages or beetroots (around 700 000 MNT for a second hand machine). The plastic bags are sometimes available in the sum but not always, for 1 000 MNT per unit.

One household which has started up an activity of wild harvesting for the production of herbal teas and infusions have bought a dryer machine, but the electricity network of the sum center is not good enough to ensure its proper functioning (these machine needs 2kW / hour). .

Picture 21: Cauldron used for canning pickled vegetables

40

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

2.5.4.5 Work calendar, workforce and mutual assistance In many cases, particularly regarding to the small production areas of vegetables, the farmers are women. However, in the case of the biggest farmer the proportion between men and women is more equilibrate.

With low mechanization, vegetable cultivation is a labour intensive activity. Field work is consider as difficult work and is not socially valued. Thus, farmers are seeing each other as hard workers The main work peaks are occurring during land preparation, seedling and plantation, harvesting and storage. However, watering and weeding require regular work throughout the season. The work technical limit for a full time monitored plot is determined by its size, around 1.5 ha Watering and weeding are usually managed by the head of the household, with occasional assistance of the other members of the household and children that have left the household and still live in Binder sum.

During the work peaks biggest farmers rely on mutual assistance from smaller farmers and relatives to ensure the achievement of cultivation operations on time. Farmers usually bring this workgroup period to bear knowledge and experience sharing.

Figure 15: Farming work and cash flow calendar

2.5.4.6 Financial opportunities Vegetable cultivation requires at least a minimum of capital to invest. It is necessary to obtain a land use right and fence it, to buy tools and equipment, and at the beginning of the season to buy seeds and seedling plants. But after winter time very few farmers have saved enough money to start the activity. They are consequently depending on credit systems.

Every year Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund is supporting farmers for seed supply. The purposes of this fund are to establish a financing system to develop small and medium enterprises, in order to increase employment, to improve livelihood and to ensure economic growth. It is a microcredit system that enables household to borrow cash money on a 2 years period to conduct business projects for a maximum amount of 5 million MNT, with an interest rate of 7% per year. Those last 7 years the fund has benefited to 142 families for a total amount of 365.3 million MNT (interests included). Usually the main part of this fund is dedicated to herding, but for the first time in 2016 the SMEDF has supported Binder citizens to buy 24 summer greenhouses. There are two main reasons for this novelty: - Many citizens came to the Agriculture Department seeking help to buy summer

41 greenhouses, - One of the goals of the sum’s Development Plan is to reach 100 % of vegetable selfsufficiency and to diversify vegetable productions.

However, it appears that a large proportion of the beneficiaries is working for the administration, or is very linked to it. Some of them were even not vegetable growers before that they bought a greenhouse and took advantage of this opportunity to start such an activity.

Their main motivation is the home-consumption, and for many of them the reimbursement of the loan through the commercialization of the production is not a priority. However, those who have produced a surplus are selling it.

The more experienced vegetable growers are complaining about this situation for the following reasons: - Requirements for allocation of the loan are restrictive for them; - As experienced vegetable farmers the administration considers that they do not need support; - The communication for greenhouse tenders have not be disseminated properly and many of them did not received it in time to apply for it; - It is necessary to have good connections with the administration, as “allocation of the loan is only depending on political links”.

Toriin Bank, which is a Mongolian State Bank, has developed a seasonal credit for agriculture available from February to June. The purpose of this loan is to buy seeds, to build infrastructure (mill, greenhouses, cellar, warehouse…) or agriculture machinery and equipment.

The requirements for the loan are at least one year of experience, to prove that the amount of the loan is not over 70% of the household or company income, and mortgaging an equivalent asset in its possession. The maximum amount for the loan is 10 million MNT at the sum level and 30 million MNT, for an interest rate from 1.9 to 2.3% depending on the amount of the loan and on the credit history.

However, in Khentii aimag only two sums and one bag are entitled to benefit from this kind of loan, which are Kherlen sum, Galchar sum and the bag of Khukh in Omnodelger sum. This strategy is determined at the State level, and vegetable cultivation appears too risky, especially while considering climatic risks. For the same reasons, the vegetable sector seems too risky to attract private sector investment and it is thus impossible for the Binder’s farmers to apply for a bank loan.

2.5.5 Field practices Management 2.5.5.1 Land preparation and protection against livestock At the beginning of the season the soil is tilled using a towed plough. Small farmers that cannot borrow or cannot afford to rent a tractor are preparing small area of ground with shovel which is not an appropriate tool.

One of the major problems of farmers is to protect their vegetable crop from livestock.

Some vegetables as cabbages, carrot leaves or beetroot leaves are very appetent for ruminants.

Thus, fences are fundamental for vegetables production system and beginning of the season is also time for repairing and strengthening fences. In Bayan Gol, few forest woods are available and fences are made with dead seabuckthorn, taking benefit from the very prickly spines. It is notable that in Zuun Bayan the farmers are not using fences but take benefit from the livestock watchers hired by the wheat companies.

Despite attention paid to the plot protection, none of those systems are infallible and livestock often manage to reach the crops, causing tremendous damages.

42

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Picture 22: Fences made of small trunk and seabuckthorn branches in Bayan Gol

2.5.5.2 Rotation and crop associations Crop rotation in Binder sum is very limited. It is usually a 2 years rotation, with an association of various vegetables (mainly cabbages, carrots and onions) taking turns after a potato crop.

There is no leguminous or cover crop included in the rotation. In some cases the plantation plan is only a potato monoculture, from year to next.

The weakness of this rotation system is a major problem as growing the same crop in the same place for many years in a row disproportionately depletes the soil of certain nutrients.

With rotation, a crop that leaches the soil of one kind of nutrient is followed during the next growing season by a dissimilar crop that returns that nutrient to the soil or draws a different ratio of nutrients. In addition, crop rotation mitigates the buildup of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped, and can also improve soil structure and fertility by increasing biomass from varied root structures.

Only one case of more complex rotation has been observed. A vegetable producer from Omnodelger sum and a grain producer from Binder sum are sharing their respective plots to mutually benefit from more complex rotation system. This behaviour is clearly coming from an agronomic knowledge higher than average.

2.5.5.3 Soil fertility management A first fertilization is often done after ploughing. 2 or 3 years sheep manure or chicken manure is spread manually on the field. The amount of manure is random and heterogeneous from one year to the next, depending on the farmer’s perception of the soil fertility and the land degradation. Sheep manure is the most commonly available and cheapest one, as it is possible to collect it on any winter or spring herder camp (around 40 000 MNT for one porter, including fuel and work time). However, sheep manure is slow to break down and release nutrients. It also contains a high number of weed seeds, which is contributing to the considerable weed problem encountered on some vegetable sites. Although application of manure can increase a little bit the presence of organic matter, this is probably not a sustainable prospect. As matter of fact, if the amount of organic matter is too low, applied fertilizers will not be held in the soil and are quickly leached out of the root zone. Organic matter in soil is very important to improve soil structure (aeration, drainage, rooting‌) and to increase the ability of the soil to hold plant nutrients for use by crop plants. Compost or green fertilizers, which are organic matter provider, are never used and are not known by the farmers.

43 A second type of fertilization is made during the cultivation season with a solution of sheep or chicken manure fermented in water. This fertilizer application is also random thus it is not always applied appropriately or in inadequate amount.

Pictures 23 and 24: Bird manure and fermentation of sheep manure

However, some famers do not fertilize their plot, in which severe nitrogen deficiency symptoms can be noticed.

Moreover, crop rotation is very simple and in most of the cases does not exist. Monoculture leads to soil nutrient depletion and impact significantly functional and nutritional quality of the production.

2.5.5.4 Watering management Vegetable crops in Mongolia have the same biological evapotranspiration rates as any other area with equivalent temperatures and wind. Depending on size of crop, amount of ground cover, wind, temperature, species and weeds competition vegetable crops in Mongolia need approximately 250 000 liters of water per hectare and per week. That is equivalent to 2.5 cm or 250 tons of water. While plants are small and temperature are cool the water use will be approximately 100 tons, and large mature plants in hot, windy areas may need 35 tons of water per week for peak production. (Hickman, 2005) Water use for irrigation in Binder sum is usually lower than those very optimal recommendations, which is not really problematic as farmers evaluate vegetable needs with the naked eye. As farmer’s watering equipment is limited, it is almost impossible for them to reach it. The major problem is that this equipment limitation obliges them to remove their hoses or to manage irrigation canals all day long. Thus many rows of vegetable are irrigated with inappropriate timing (for instance when sunlight and temperature are very high and that vegetables are not able to absorb water), causing a heterogeneous development of the crops. These technics make also watering a very time-consuming activity.

Another major problem concerning irrigation is the lack of knowledge about spreading water on the leaves during sunny days. Plant tissues are very sensitive to magnifying effect that causes burns. Seedling plants are particularly sensitive to this effect and decrease of their quality may significantly impact the overall production.

2.5.5.5 Pest and weed management The most serious insect pests observed were various species of lepidopterous larvae (butterfly and moth) feeding on cabbages, considerably damaging them and thus significantly impacting the harvest and storage potential. Farmers are often overwhelmed by the magnitude of the

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

44 problem and are seeking out solutions. Some of them are spraying a solution of black tobacco and black soap but it does not seem really effective. On some farm Decis (deltamethrin), which is a powerful neurotoxic thus harmful to human health, is used. As the product label is not in Mongolian recommended application rates are apparently not known. In almost cases, for a variety of reasons including high pH water inactivating the insecticide, effective insect control on cabbage was not being achieved. Also, many unsafe application practices have been noticed, and without full label information in Mongolian and complete training on use, it is recommended to discontinue use of this material.

A major yield-limiting factor on many farms is poor weed management. In ecological terms, most annual weeds are r-strategists, establishing populations with high relative growth rate. Thus, they produce numerous viable seeds and their populations quickly build up, in an exponential pattern. Weed competition with crops reduces agricultural output (quantity and quality), increases external costs by spreading them across farm boundaries, and thereby is a major constraint to increased farmers’ productivity.

Major weeds noted on farms included Amaranthus sp., Chenopodium sp., Ipomea sp., Solanum sp., Ambrosia sp., Rumex sp., and Salsola sp. The results indicate that farmers largely attribute the introduction and movement of weeds to factors outside their control (e.g., the environment, plant characteristics). On those farms weeds were significantly in competition with crops for nutrients, water and even sunlight. Although some efforts were being made to remove weeds by hand, the timing of this substantial labor input made it ineffective. By waiting to remove weeds until after they had absorbed scarce fertilizer and water away from vegetable crops and had produced seeds, another large weed problem next year is all but assured.

Picture 25: Vegetable field invaded by weeds in Bayan Gol

On few farms, chemical herbicides are used, but as the product label is not in Mongolian recommended application rates are not known and are sometimes overloaded, damaging significantly the vegetables. Therefore, the use of herbicides is not recommended.

45 Picture 26: Carrots burned by unsuitable application rate in Binder sum center

2.5.5.6 Greenhouse management Greenhouses are not totally new in Binder sum but their management is far to be optimum and production per area is relatively low. Plant spacing and greenhouse space optimization is often less than efficient. This loss of space impacts significantly the performance of the equipment, and the profitability of the investment.

Shade net, with a quite large knitted net is put over the greenhouses during the warmest days of summer but is generally not removed until the end of the season. Thus, at the end of the season sunlight penetration and temperature benefits are not optimal, which do not allow to properly benefits from the greenhouse capacity to extend the harvest period.

Many greenhouse owners are not aware of the importance of aeration for greenhouse vegetables and do not open it enough. In summer days temperatures are usually too high, while they should not exceed 35 Celsius degrees, and increase significantly evapotranspiration, the process by which water is lost to the air through plant leaves and from soil and water surfaces.

Moreover, temperatures are sometime so high that stomata close to prevent leaf from losing water, thus stopping leaf growth and fruit production.

The 24 new greenhouses have been delivered with drip irrigation system but no one in the sum knows how to set it up and how to adjust it. Consequently none of the farmers are using it and many of them prefer to use water cans or hoses for watering. However, drop to drop system is the most performant system and contributes to save time and water. It would be appropriate and relevant to train the farmers to its usage.

46

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

Picture 27 and 28: Underexploited summer greenhouses in Binder sum center

Knowledge and skills of summer vegetables cultivation processes are very weak: - The only vegetable which cultivation seems more or less well managed is cucumber.

However, even the cucumber crop protocol could be improved by leaves and male flower pinching, or at least pruning. The shakes used to support plants are too thin and rigid, causing multiple wounds which are weakening the plants and could be source of infection.

- Tomato plants are never pinched or pruned and are almost never supported by stakes.

Consequently the plants are sprawling on the ground, developing a bushing shape that stops sunlight penetration to the fruits thus disables the fruits to reach maturity. Farmers usually harvest green tomatoes and have deduced that tomato crop is not suitable to be associated with cucumber crops; and many of them are considering not renewing the experience. This misunderstanding should be quickly clarified to avoid disappearance of tomato crops in Binder sum.

- Sweet pepper plants are never pruned after fruit-forming which lengthens maturation time. Thus farmers usually harvest green sweet peppers, which are less valuable than red sweet peppers. This production limitation could be easily solved by appropriate training on pruning technics.

2.5.6 Performance and profitability of vegetable productions As farmers are not tracking their harvests and their sales, it is quite difficult to have an accurate picture of the performance and the profitability of vegetable growing, all the more that when it comes to income evaluation farmers are careful and modest. After all, few of them agreed to answer our questions but the results should be interpreted with caution as all farmers situation are different, and thus could not be considered as representative of the overall vegetable farming situation of Binder sum.

47 Figure 16: Crop yield in a medium vegetable production are in Binder sum center in 2015 Planted (m²) 200 40 25 25 10

potatoes cabbages turnips carrots onions

Harvested (kg) 280 150 100 35 50

A farmer of Zuun Bayan exploiting around 1ha plot have reported earnings from 800 000 to 900 000 MNT after expenditures during the bad years and from 4 to 6 million MNT the good years (9 to 10 tons of potatoes and vegetables harvested). This extremely wide variability can be attributed to the agriculture dependence on climate in on hand, and to production accidents on the other hand as livestock penetration in the field.

Figure 17: Gross product of a farmer of Zuun Bayan owning a root cellar, 2015

Potatoes Cabbages Turnips Carotts Onions Cans Total

Planted (ha)

Harvested (kg)

Sold (kg)

0.5 0.07 0.04 0.04 0.04

7 000 1 500 500 500 500

0.67

10 000

6 000 1 500 300 300 300 500 units 8400

Price (MNT/ kg) 1 1 1 1 4

900 300 300 300 000 000

Sold (MNT) Intermediate consumption 5 400 000 1 950 000 390 000 390 000 300 000 2 800 000 10 430 000

2 400 000

500 000 750 000 3 430 000

Figure 18: Gross product of a farmer of Zuun Bayan without storage capacity, 2015

Potatoes Cabbages Turnips Carotts Onions Cans Total

Planted (ha)

Harvested (kg)

Sold (kg)

Price (MNT/ kg)

0.3 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.04

4 000 1 200 800 500 500

800 000 000 000 000 000

0.5

10 000

3 000 1 000 700 300 300 200 units 8400

1 1 1 1 4

Sold (MNT) Intermediate consumption 2 400 000 1 000 000 700 000 300 000 300 000 800 000 5 500 000

1 500 000

500 000 350 000 2 350 000

2.5.7 Commercialization and value chain in the vegetable sector 2.5.7.1 Storage and processing One of the majors problem, or maybe the major problem encountered today by the vegetable growers is the production concentration, thereby the sales concentration at the end of summer.

The large amount of vegetables harvested in the sum at this period oversaturate the market, driving down prices and making it impossible for farmers to earn acceptable income compare to the efforts made. Elsewhere, this production and sale concentration entails unavailability of local vegetables during winter, and opens the door to Chinese or Russian imported vegetables.

One solution could be to extend the growing period using infrastructure as summer greenhouses or passive solar greenhouses, but such equipment are unfortunately expansive and almost no farmers of Binder sum can afford to invest in it.

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

48 Sales concentration is also the direct consequence of the low storage and preservation capacities in the sum. It might be possible to reach more effective, more secure and less expansive solution through the development of root cellars for fresh vegetables preservation and through second products processing.

After checking the cellars included on a list furnished by the administration it actually appears that lot of them are deteriorated or got an overestimated capacity, and very few of them are still functional. For instance, a 35 m3 root cellar provided by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2008 has been partially destroyed by a construction machine in 2015 and is no more usable.

Astonishment, some of them are functional but unused.

Figure 19: List and shape of cellars available in Binder sum center (administration data checked by GERES in 2016) Cellars

Capacity (m3)

Construction date

State

1

Агропарк

35

2008

Destroyed in 2015

2

Д.Бурмаа

30

2005

Destroyed

3

Ц.Ган-Эрдэнэ

25

2000

Functional

4

М.Болд

10

2009

Construction not ended

5

Я.Амаржаргал

10

2007

Much more smaller than 10 Tons

6

Ө.Энхболд

10

2007

Not used

7

Д.Аюурзана

8

2007

Not used

8

Д.Наранчимэг

4

2009

Not used

9

Ү.Эрдэнэчимэг

4

2010

Destroyed

10

У.Цогт

4

2009

Not used

11

Ч.Дуламсүрэн

2

2008

Destroyed

Besides the cellars included on the list furnished by the administration, many households own a small cellar usually located under their house or in their yard, with an average capacity of 1 to 2 m3 and a maximal capacity of 5 m3.

Cellars are usually made digging the ground from 2 meters to 2.5 meters. Walls are made of small tree trunks or concrete blocks. Roof top frame is made of wood, covered by a plastic sheet itself covered by one or two meters of ground. It also exists some non-conventional cellars in Binder sum as an underground water tank of 250 m3, set-up during the cooperative time. This later is only used by one household despite is large capacity and lack of an effective aeration system.

Pictures 29 and 30: Destroyed cellar of the Binder Agropark and individual cellar under construction

49 They are often wet and not enough insulated and it is necessary to dry and warm them with a wooden stove. They are fumigated before harvest warehousing in order to destroy mould populations that have developed over summer. It is also necessary to maintain them in order to avoid the ingress of rainwater. Root cellars would therefore benefit from group management in order to share worktime and fuel costs.

Farmers are really aware of this storage issue and some of them have started to build their own. Oher ones are making advocacy to local authority in order to make the destroyed cellars renovated, unsuccessfully until now.

Another good way to preserve vegetables is to process second products. Many farmers are canning a small part of their vegetables but relatively few of them are sold. Vegetables are kept in jars with a vinegar and salt brine, and sterilized. They are using their own cauldron for sterilization, which have small capacities. Consequently it takes far too long to produce a large quantity of cans, and they usually keep it for their own use or to make gifts to relatives.

Another factor explaining the few level of can production is the local widespread view that an excessive consumption of vinegar could be harmful for health.

One farmer of the sum has invested in a vacuum machine but does not use it so much, as vegetables are not sterilized and still need to be stored in a freezer. This same farmer is also producing artichoke juice, sold for their locally recognized medicinal virtues on liver and flue.

2.5.7.2 Commercialization and barter 2.5.7.2.1 Vegetable prices Concerning price variabilities the year can be divided in three distinct periods: - From July to October oversaturation of the market break prices - From October to February prices rise - From February to July prices are sky-high because of local vegetables shortage Figure 20: Intra-annual variation of fresh vegetables in 2015

Potatoes

July-October (MNT/kg) 800

October-February (MNT/kg) 1500

February-July (MNT/kg) 2000

1000

1500-1800

2000-2500

1000-1500

1500-3000

4500-5000

2500

3000

3500

(600 if wholesale) Root vegetables Summer vegetables Onions

Figure 21: Intra-annual variation of canned vegetables in 2015 Capacity

Autumn price

Winter price

500g

1500-2000

2000-2500

700g

1800-2200

2300-2700

900g

2500-3000

3000-3500

1,5L

3500-4000

4000-4500

2,5L

6000-7000

6500-7500

50 Vacuum-packed vegetables weighing 200 to 300 grams are sold between 1200 and 1300 MNT (as it cannot be store for long time they are usually sold in autumn).

Imported vegetables are cheaper throughout the year and are following a parallel curve 500 MNT lower. Despite those lower prices Binder stores do not import vegetables when local ones are available.

FINDINGS AND RESULTS

2.5.7.2.2 Selling of vegetables Binder sum center houses three local stores located 50 meters from each other. These stores aim to sell local products as meat, dairy products, honey, fresh or processed fruits and vegetables, with prices determined by the producer. 10% of the selling price is given to the manager of the local store. However, selling through the local store is impossible for many farmers as the biggest one have enough stock to decide on prices and to dominate the niche.

However some small farmers manage to sell their products on the local stores, relying on word to mouth marketing.

To avoid the oversaturated Binder market and to obtain better prices, some farmers sell their products in the neighborhood sums (Mainly Batsheeret, Bayan Adraga and Dadal, as those sums are lacking of big vegetable growers).

Farmers never sell their products in cities as Chinggis Khot vegetable market is dominated by local farmers, and AS Ulan Bator market is dominated by the producers of Selenge province.

Pictures 31 and 32: Sales of vegetables in two different local stores of Binder sum center

2.5.7.2.3 Barter One way to circumvent the problem raised by the saturation of the market is to trade with herders. Vegetables harvest occurs when herders have few cash money but fat livestock and abundance of dairy products. In those conditions barter of vegetable against meat or dairy products are very common (35 kg of potatoes might be barter against one lamb). Herders particularly appreciate second products as they are easier to store. However, vegetable growers does not like so much barter as they say that it is returning back to the same added value compare to selling, but with an increased work load. Barter actually calls for extra effort to visit herders in the steppe, and to sell the traded products in Chinggis Khot or Ulan Bator.

2.5.7.2.4 Public call for bid tender Three public institutions are calling for tender in Binder sum: the kindergarten, the boarding school and the hospital: - Kindergarten call for bid tender was won by Bayan Gol farmer during many years, but

51 in 2015 it was won by a farmer from outside of the sum.

- Hospital call for bid tender was won by a Zuun Bayan farmer for many years, but in 2015 it was won by a farmer from Norovlin sum, which have transported its production at one time and stored it in Binder.

- School call for bid tender is won by a Zuun Bayan since many years. His wife is the cooker of the school and she is in charge of the monitoring of the school root cellar.

The interest for a farmer to apply to this tender is to obtain the guarantee to sell a determined quantity of vegetables. On the other hand, prices are usually determined on the basis of summer prices and the farmer is obliged to comply with the contract. Consequently, if its harvest is not enough to comply it he will have to buy expensive vegetables and to sell them at a loss.

52 III. DISCUSSION, PERSPECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

DISCUSSION, PERSPECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. DISCUSSION ON METHODOLOGY The multidisciplinary nature of the agrarian diagnosis implemented, intrinsically necessary to realize this agricultural situation analysis, is also source of approximations. The dispersion of fields of research (sociology, economy, agronomy…) leads to an overall diagnosis. A strict and homogenous data gathering for each field of research should require a specific study.

As the agrarian diagnosis purpose is to understand the dynamics of farming activities and the agricultural evolution and transformation in a region, and as the main agricultural activity in Binder sum is herding, the data gathering focused more on it than on farming.

Survey work in Mongolia, especially in rural areas, can be delicate and sparsely productive even more when it is led by a westerner researcher: - The need for translation leads to bias in the answers that should be taken in consideration.

- The high mobility of the targeted interviewees, cause by economic and social multiactivities, make some time them difficult to reach.

- The conduct of focus group is also a break to the survey. Influence effects within a group of people are particularly felt. Oratory hierarchies exist, and nobody would take the liberty of contradicting a speaker more influential than him.

The difficulties met to gather reliable data were especially felt for quantitative data, even when interviewees have shown willingness to answer. As the farmers are not tracking their production or their sales it was really difficult for them to give accurate answers, and were usually providing vague and evasive answer or order of magnitude.

Those specificities led to a careful qualitative analysis that allows showcasing of individual cases, but it is perhaps regrettable that no more statistical data have been gathered. This observation should led to a deeper data gathering step, that could be conduct by the project team members taking benefit of their regular contacts with the farmers.

Moreover and not least observation, as the project has been presented from the beginning to the potential beneficiaries and stakeholders, the interviewed persons, both farmers and officials, had some expectations concerning the study outcomes, especially regarding to the setting-up of a Training and Demonstration farm or other hard support that can be provided. Therefore, the answers given during the interviews have been highly influenced by these expectations and the reliability of the captured information should be taken in consideration. For instance, one of the most common comments during the interviews was: “If you provide me a winter greenhouse I will be able to develop a very sustainable vegetable farming activity”.

2. PERSPECTIVES AND LIMITS OF THE VEGETABLE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN BINDER SUM Above and beyond the climatic limits inherent within Mongolian context, this study identified a number of limiting factors that influence highly the farming production systems thereby the farmer’s behaviour as well as the consumer’s behaviour. Among these are weak agronomic, technical and organizational knowledge and skills of the farmers, lack of goods and services providers in horticulture sector, vegetable market punctual oversaturation due to lack of storage and preservation capacities, lack of support from Local Authorities, or depreciating social perception of field works.

Productivity level of the main production areas is influenced by the distance between them and the sum center in one hand, and by the heavy work timetable during summer in the other hand. The success of vegetable farming lies in a strict respect of technical operations timing and in an optimized monitoring and action efforts, but many farmers cannot afford to dedicate full time to it and adapt their farming calendar to other activities. The importance of these

53 other summer activities, because of necessity, better opportunity costs or more socially valuable practices, highly influence the time that the farmers can dedicate into their plots. For instance, haying is a fundamental activity to ensure a good feeding of livestock during winter and keeps herders busy during all the month of August. Even though August is a critical period for crops weeding and watering, the farmers that are also herders prefer to spend time on haying.

All these factors highly impact vegetable farming profitability and thereby its attractiveness.

They will significantly influence the success or failure of the project, and must be seriously taken into account. The Agropark project from World Vision is particularly representative of this situation: the farmers in charge of it have invested very little time in vegetable production and the Agropark is today almost abandoned, showing the lack of competitiveness of vegetable farming in Binder sum.

2.1 Needs for improved agricultural practices The study provided strong evidence that respondents learned knowledge and skills informally, mainly through the implementation of NGO projects concerning vegetable farming, or for a little number of them within their families through interaction and observation. Only few of Binder farmers learned from their former experience within the cooperative. For those later, this experience is usually limited to one vegetable and their production factors are very limited.

There is almost no experience sharing among farmers or only through close neighborhood or relationships, as group work is not very common within the Binder community.

Despite the efforts made to improve the knowledge of the farmers throughout the implementation of World Vision project it remains basic and limited to a little number of vegetables, mainly root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, beetroots and turnips but also cabbages and onions, cultivated in open field. The testimony of one of the only agronomist living in the sum, which is now retired and was in charge of the World Vision projects, is revealing big gaps such as botanic and agronomic ones. The information disseminated through booklets do not allows farmers to understand clearly the functioning of the interactions between soils, water, human interventions and their crops. The lack of practical experience is a break to the knowledge dissemination and almost all the farmers are raising questions about the effectiveness and relevance of their cultivation practices.

Pictures 33, 34 and 35: Abandoned and underexploited World Vision’s Agroparks

The recent emergence and diffusion of summer greenhouses in the sum without any technical support also leads to tremendous gaps in their management, even though it represents for each farmer a substantial investment. Greenhouses are underexploited with obvious lack of knowledge of summer vegetables cultivation, causing bad harvests or complete failures

DISCUSSION, PERSPECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

54 and productivity per area is very low. Much of the planted materials did not provided harvest as there was no intensive follow-up, staking, pruning, or replacements of seedlings after plantation, and inefficient watering practices. Likewise, causal effects leading to these failures are not well understood which runs the risk of discouraging farmers to continue efforts on crops diversification. For instance, farmers think that the bad harvest of tomatoes was due to adverse effects of its association with cucumbers whereas it is absolutely not related. And as cucumbers harvest was rather good, most of the farmers are considering quitting the tomato cropping despite the great attractiveness of this vegetable on the consumers. If this dynamic is not quickly stem, it will lead in one hand to tomato cropping disappearance, and to cucumber market saturation in the other hand.

So long as there are no locally adapted seed varieties or that it is impossible for the farmers to know at least the characteristics of the seeds that they buy, the vegetable production will remain random and uncertain. The lack of knowledge concerning seeding is also a break to increase vegetable production, and for many small farmers the prices of seedling plants are too expensive regarding to both climatic and pest risks.

Weeds management is one of the main bottlenecks for the good productivity of the crops.

The timing of weeding is matching with many other fundamental activities of the agrarian system, as haying or milk processing, and few farmers have time to dedicate to this activity.

Better effectiveness of weeding practices should be a prospect to improve crops productivity.

Pest management is also a major issue encounter by the farmers, especially on cabbages.

The almost systematic use of deltamethrine without respecting the basics recommendations for use is worrisome for human health. Even more, the use of this product is not necessarily the best option for pest control. (Hickman, 2005) At an agronomic and environmental level, the current cultivation practices do not guarantee the sustainability of the farming systems. Soil fertility renewal is not ensured, as there are no or few fertilizers spreading on the plots, no crops rotation, soil cover or fallows. This situation leads to soil nutrients depletion on the oldest plots and nitrogenous deficiencies could be sometimes really obvious. As well, the low rate of organic matter in the soil is a major issue for the vegetable cropping as its roles are to improve soil structure and to improve cation exchange capacity. Soil fertility is fundamental for vegetable growth or blooming and its depletion significantly impacts the harvest. Also, bare soils and lack of wind break in this area, where strong winds and rainfall are common, leads to important erosion phenomenon that presents a high risk of loss of productivity of the plots.

2.2 Breaking the vicious circle of vegetable market oversaturation The settlement of new vegetable farmers on commercial purpose seems compromised by the punctual saturation of the market related to production concentration and to the lack of storage and preservation capacities, even more that starting vegetable farming activity requires a large investment in time and cash flow.

It is possible to earn important income from vegetable farming, as the example of the farmer cultivating 0.67 ha in Zuun Bayan is showing, but this case is actually an exception.

On one side it is difficult for humble households to maintain themselves as big farmers.

As a matter of fact, weak treasury capacities at the end of winter are limiting investment opportunities during spring, therefore limiting seeds and seedling plants supply. Consequently, the harvest at the end of the season is limited as well as the income earned from it; and the investment capacities for the following year will be limited. The farming investments are also limited by the meteorological risks, if the summer is dry or if early or late frosts happen the situation can become dangerous for quite poor households. Actually, households relying on farming are not the wealthiest one in Binder sum. Thus, for many big farmers, the beneficiation limit is not a technical work limit or neither determined by land access but is related to their investment capacities. This vicious circle can only be broken by improvement of the value-added

55 of the production, through sales period extension or vegetable processing.

On the other side, the big farmers have found their niches at a time when the vegetable market was totally underdeveloped, before the appearance of imported vegetables. As shows the figure below, the settlement of new big farmer in Binder sum is currently no possible under such vegetable market. Vegetable consumption has increased those last years but mainly through the development of home-consumption farming and sales potentialities did not follow the curve of consumption. Vegetable market remains saturated by offer during harvesting period and the only way to unsaturate it should come from a spreading of the sales as longer and as far as possible.

Figure 22: Scheme of vegetable market evolution in Binder sum from 2000 to 2016

Thus, the case of the very competitive Zuun Bayan farmer can be explained by the fact that his wife is the cooker of the school and is in charge of the school cellar: - The salary earned from this work offers easier investment capacity to the household every spring.

- The relationships between his wife and the school direction obviously help him to win the bid for the school vegetable procurement.

- The opportunity to use the school cellar allows him to fill the procurement contract concluded with the school and to throw off the market saturation.

This case is very representative of the importance of root cellars on preservation capacities and thereby on sales potentialities. His annual income is around 7.5 million MNT while the income earned from a comparable plot by a farmer without storage capacities is around 3.5 million MNT. 3. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This study shows that the vegetable production sector in Binder sum is limited by harsh climate, weak knowledge and skills on vegetable production both technical and economics, unsuitable tools and equipment, low storage capacities, lack of value-adding of the production, and a punctual oversaturation of the market.

The development of the vegetable sector in Binder sum cannot occurs without increasing of its competitiveness that the recommendations for a technical support of vegetable farming sector in Binder sum should follow three major axes:

56

DISCUSSION, PERSPECTIVES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

- Strengthening organizational capacities of the farmers through farm records keeping, costs and returns analysis, budgeting of the production, establishment of business plan, minimizing risks and uncertainties.

- Strengthening technical knowledge and skills on vegetable farming to improve and optimize the production: improved water management, improved weed management, improved soil fertility management, improved field management practices, relevant seed selection, extension of cultural season, establishment of crop planning (introduction of more complex rotation including leguminous, cover crops…), and improved harvest and post-harvest practices.

- Strengthening sales capacities through storage and preservation capacities: development of bioclimatic underground cellars, vegetable processing, packaging, labelling, marketing, pooling of the local production.

4. PROPOSED TOPICS FOR TRAINING AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT Trainings

Descriptions Vegetables production

1. Theoretical courses on botanic, plant physiology and agronomy

· Knowledge on characteristics of botanic families · Plant morphology and functioning · Interactions soil-plant-atmosphere (environmental factors affecting vegetable production)

2. Seeds selection and reproduction

· On-farm seed selection and local variety development · Plant breeding process · Farm-level packaging and storage of seeds

3. Soil fertility management

· Soil fertility evaluation · Importance of organic matter: green manure / animal manure / composting · Calcium and magnesium spreading · Nutrient management in organic agriculture · Improvement and maintenance of soil fertility

· Determining water irrigation requirement 4. Water management · Scheduling of irrigation · Methods of applying irrigation water 5. Pest and diseases management

· · · · ·

· · 6. Weed management · ·

Pest and disease control Prophylaxis methods and monitoring Organic curative methods Integrated pest management Handling and storing of chemicals Crop-weed competition Weed control approaches Preventive practices Biological and mechanical control of weeds

57

7. Crop planning

· Crop rotation · Intercropping · Cover crops · Designing cropping systems

8. Field management practices

· · · · · ·

Preparing seeds for sowing Growing transplants and transplanting Land preparation Spacing and plant population Staking, pruning, fruit thinning, mulching Increasing labor efficiency

9. Tools and equipment

· · · ·

Summer greenhouses management Passive solar greenhouses management Appropriate farm mechanization Hand-tool technologies

10. Harvest and postharvest practices

· · · ·

Harvesting techniques and operations Causes of post-harvest losses Basis of post-harvest technology Reducing losses during post-harvest handling and storage Vegetable sales capacity

1. Improvement of storage capacities

2. Adding value to vegetables / Vegetable processing 3. Packaging and marketing

· Factors affecting storage life · Storage structures · Adaptation of cellars to the different morphology and chemical composition of vegetables · Supporting bioclimatic cellars development and repair of destroyed root cellars · Improvement of quality · Caning · Drying · Lacto fermentation processing · New vegetables introduction · Packaging · Labelling and promotion of the production · Pooling of productions and improvement of negotiating capacities Economics of vegetable production

.

1. Farm records keeping

· Inventory of resources · Cost and return records · Cost and return analysis

2. Planning and budgeting

· · · · · ·

Farm operations and inputs Calendar of operations and labor requirements Budgeting the production Estimation of production and gross income Establish a business plan Minimizing risks and uncertainties

58 BIBLIOGRAPHY Binder administration - Urbanization Plan 2015-2035, 2013

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blanc M., Devienne S., Oriol C. - Un siècle d’évolution du système désertique de Mongolie : diminution de la mobilité des troupeaux, dérégulation de l’accès aux parcours et crise de surpâturage, Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines, 2013 Blanc M., Oriol C. - Diagnostic agraire du bassin endoréique de la rivière Touin, sums de Bogd et Jinst, province de Bayankhongor, Mongolie, 2009 Binder Meteorological office - Meteorological data of Binder sum 2003-2013 Chinggis Khot Archives Office - Bouteeltch Cooperative archives, 1959, 1971, 1993 Devienne S. - Régulation de l’accès aux parcours et évolution des systèmes pastoraux en Mongolie, Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines, 2013 - Analyse diagnostic d’un système pastoral, Document de cours Evolution et différenciation des systèmes agraires, 2012-2013 Gautier A., Le Bahers G. - Diagnostic Agraire du bassin de la Ort Terkh-an (Province de l’Arkhangaï, Mongolie) FAO – Livelihood Program Support Rural livelihoods and access to forest resources in Mongolia : Methodology and cases study of Tsekhen sum, Ulan Uul sum, Binder sum, Teshig sum and Baynlig sum, LSP Working paper 32, 2006 Ferraton N., Touzard I. - Comprendre l’agriculture familiale, Editions QUAE, 2005 Humphrey C., Sneath D. - The End of Nomadism, Duke University Press, 1999 Mining ministerial office - Geological maps of Binder sum M. Purevdordj - History book of the Khoshuu of Khovtchiin Djonon Vangiin, 1993 Sheehy P. - Grazing management strategies as a factor influencing ecological stability of Mongolian grasslands ; Nomadic Peoples, Number 33, 1993

59 Segre H. - Diagnostic Agraire du sum de Bombogor, aïmag de Bayankhongor, Mongolie Swiss agency for Development and Cooperation - Inclusive and sustainable vegetable production and marketing project, Factsheet, 2016 WWF – Mongolia - Executive summary of environment, socio-economic baseline studies conducted in Onon River Basin, 2010

60 TABLE OF ANNEXES Annex 1

Climate conditions in Binder 2013-2015

61

TABLE OF ANNEXES

Annex 2 Vegetable procurement of kindergarten, school and hospital of Binder sum 62

61 ANNEX 1 - CLIMATE CONDITIONS IN BINDER 2013-2015 Air temperatures oC average of 2013-2015 years in Binder Table№1 Months and years

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Average

-8.0

-17.7

-0.8

2013

-23.2 -20.7

-8.5

0.5

12.0

15.1

17.3

15.7

8.9

-0.9

2014

-18.6 -18.3

-5.3

6.3

9.3

15.4

17.1

15.5

8.6

1.1

-10.4 -16.0

0.4

2015

-17.7

-6.4

3.9

9.0

16.4

20.0

18.4

10.4

2.7

-14.7 -19.5

0.5

-17.0

Soil temperature oC average of 2013-2015 years in Binder Тable№2 Months and years

1

2

3

4

2013

-26.2

-22.6

-5.7

5.7

2014

-21.3

-18.8

2015

-19.4

-18.2

5

6

7

8

9

10

16.6 20.4 23.4

18.6

11.5

-0.7

-10.2 -20.2

10.6

0.3

10.5 15.2 20.3 21.8

22.4

13.0

3.0

-9.9

-18.8

37.7

-4.0

7.9

24.6

13.4

4.0

-14.1

-21.9

37.6

15.6 24.2 25.5

11

12

Average

Annual rain (mm) average of 3 years in Binder Тable№3 Months and years

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Average

2013

2.3

0.6

1.6

6

52.2

70.6

68.8

127

37.3

22.1

2.7

1.3

392.6

2014

1.0

1.6

0.4

11.4

30.8

130

154

20.5

23.3

3.4

4.9

0.7

381.3

2015

1.7

3.8

7

15.1

8.5

16.5

58.4

42.1

52.5

2.3

3.2

5.2

216.3

62 ANNEX 2- VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION IN GOVERNMENTAL BODIES OF BINDER SUM FROM 2013 TO 2015 Binder sum” Kindergarten” consumption of vegetables: 2013-2015 Children number

TABLE OF ANNEXES

Years

2013

197

Name of vegetables

Used vegetables by kg

Average price MNT

Totally MNT

Potatoes

2500

700

1750000

Cabbage

1500

1300

1950000

Carrots

300

1000

300000

Turnips

300

1300

390000

Onion

285

1500

427500

Sweet pepper

135

4500

607500 5425000

2014

185

Potatoes

2500

1000

2500000

Cabbage

1500

1400

2100000

Carrots

300

1500

450000

Turnips

300

1800

540000

Onion

285

1500

427500

Sweet pepper

135

4500

607500 6625000

2015

210

Potatoes

2500

1300

3250000

Cabbage

1500

1500

2250000

Carrots

300

1500

450000

Turnips

300

2000

600000

Onion

285

1500

427500

Sweet pepper

135

4500

607500 7585000

Totally 3 years

19635000

63

Binder sum “Hospital” consumption of vegetables: 2013-2015 Years

2013

Patient number

265

Name of vegetables

Used vegetables by kg

Average price MNT

Totally MNT

Potatoes

800

800

640000

Cabbage

600

1200

720000

Carrots

1000

1000

1000000

Turnips

0

0

0

Сucumber

0

0

0

Onion

45

1000

45000 2405000

2014

277

Potatoes

800

800

640000

Cabbage

600

1300

780000

Carrots

1000

1200

1200000

Turnips

00

00

0

Сucumber

00

00

0

Onion

50

1200

60000 2680000

2015

269

Potatoes

800

800

640000

Cabbage

600

1500

900000

Carrots

1210

1400

1694000

Turnips

00

00

Сucumber

00

00

Onion

48

1200

0 0 57600 3291600

Totally 3 years

8376600

64 Binder sum “Lunch school program” consumption of vegetables: 2013-2015 Years

2013

Inpatient number

229

Name of vegetables

Used vegetables by kg

Average price MNT

Totally MNT

Potatoes

200

900

180000

Cabbage

180

1200

216000

Carrots

150

1000

150000

Onion

50

1000

50000

TABLE OF ANNEXES

596000

2014

240

Potatoes

220

1000

220000

Cabbage

150

1300

195000

Carrots

150

1200

180000

Onion

50

1200

60000

Potatoes

180

1400

252000

Cabbage

120

1500

180000

Carrots

180

1400

252000

Onion

50

1200

60000

655000

2015

286

744000 Totally 3 years

1 995000